Sri Lankan pacer Suranga Lakmal rattled India once again with a triple blow before Virat Kohli guided the hosts to 251-5 in their second innings at lunch on the fifth and final day of the opening Test here today.
Lakmal first cleaned up KL Rahul, who added six runs to his overnight total, to bring his exquisite 79-run innings to an end before dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara (22) and Ajinkya Rahane (0) in space of five deliveries to deflate India.
The Sri Lankan pace spearhead, who had brilliant figures of 4/26 in the first innings, upped his pace and extracted fine bounce from the flattened Eden deck in a superb morning spell of 8-2-19-3.
Sri Lankan off-spinner Dilruwan Perera accounted for Ravindra Jadeja (9) before lunch as India lost four wickets in the first session, even as Kohli held his calm in his knock from 71 balls laced with four boundaries.
The hosts extended their overall lead to 129 riding on skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten 41. He was being given company by Ravichandran Ashwin (0) at the break.
Earlier, Pujara became the ninth player overall, and third Indian to bat across five days of a five-day Test, thanks to rain interruptions on day one and two.
Coming into bat at an overnight score of two, Pujara joined the two other Indians -- ML Jaisimha and chief coach Ravi Shastri in the elite list. Incidentally, all of them had achieved the feat at the Eden Gardens.
Resuming on 171/1, India lost their first wicket with the addition of 21 runs after Lakmal went through Rahul's gate.
The Indian opener missed out on a hundred once again after he tried to push a length delivery, leaving a big bat- pad gap as the indipper unsettled his middle stump.
Rahul has nine fifties in 2017 but has not been able to convert a single of them to a century. He had scored 199 -- his last ton -- against England at Chennai in December last year.
Lakmal soon upped his pace and fired in a few short balls to Kohli who got off to mark in an unconvincing fashion flicking one to fine-leg with wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella nearly missing the catch.
He also beat Kohli's outside edge a few times but Kohli stayed on, even as the Sri Lankan pacer removed Pujara and Rahane in one over.
Pujara (22 from 51 balls; 3x4) looked cornered after being done in by a surprise bounce as Perera scooped the ball up with a stunning forward diving catch at point.
After trying out an outswinger, Lakmal fired in a ball that cut in to trap Rahane LBW for zero.
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