On the other end, Zaheer showed some spark as well and there were a few shouts of lbw but no one on the field drew a T towards the third umpire after the confident appeals were turned down. Eventually, Zaheer struck a vital blow when he had Sangakkara caught by Rahul Dravid at second slip. It was easily the ‘play of the day’ since the delivery was exactly opposite to the one with which Sharma got Vandort — it showed how the two bowlers perfectly complement each other. While Sharma’s ball had kicked off and quite moved away from the left-handed batsman, Zaheer’s delivery pitched at perfect length and came in with precise movement.

More rain predicted

When the Lankans walked away after they were offered the light, skipper Mahela Jayawardene had Warnapura for company on 50 not out. On Thursday, Zaheer and Ishant will once again get a chance to break this right-left combination. But at what time that will happen is debatable since the met office says the rain clouds over Colombo will not vanish for the next four days.

There was another interesting miss on the opening day. Sachin Tendulkar, who fielded at first slip, was just two catches away from completing a different kind of Test century. Two snicks flew from the bat towards the slip cordon, one to the keeper and the other to Dravid at second slip. Despite so much on the cards, it seemed cricket history kept managing to elude the 23rd of July.