<p>Test cricket returned to the Brabourne Stadium after 36 years in front of a sparse crowd as Sri Lanka opted to bat first after skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss for the first time in the series.<br />Dilshan (51 batting) and Paranavitana (53) batted in a forthright manner and also brought up their best first wicket partnership in the rubber, 93 in 19.5 overs.<br /><br />Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh, brought in early into the attack just before the first hour, struck a big blow when he induced the left-handed Paranavitana (53) to drive and edge to Rahul Dravid at slip just 25 minutes before lunch.<br />The Lanka opener batted for 95 minutes and struck seven fours in his 81-ball knock.<br /><br />At the break, the 33-year-old Dilshan was batting with a fluently made 51, his 14th half century, off 63 balls studded with studded with seven fours and a six.<br />Lanka skipper Sangakkara (10 off 20 balls) was the other unbeaten batsman.<br />The visitors started briskly and rattled up 65 without loss in 12 overs in the first hour of play with both the openers finding their feet in decent batting conditions.<br /><br />The left-handed Paranavitana, playing in his 10th Test after making his debut in February this year against Pakistan, on-drove and square-drove S Sreesanth for fours in successive overs.<br />Dilshan then took Sreesanth apart in the latter's fifth over, hooking the Kerala pacer over square leg nonchalantly for a six and then pulled the bowler ferociously from outside the off stump for a four in successive balls.<br />The last ball of the over was flicked beautifully by the right-hander for another four prompting India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to introduce off spinner Harbhajan Singh just before the first hour's play ended from the Churchgate end.<br />Sreesanth's first spell read an unimpressive 5-0-32-0.<br />The other frontline spinner Pragyan Ojha later replaced Zaheer Khan, after the latter's eight-over spell in which he gave away 37 runs, when Sri Lanka were 76 without loss in 16 overs.<br />Dilshan then gave Ojha the charge twice to loft him straight for a four and then off-drove him for a second four in as many balls.<br />But Dilshan, who was not averse to playing the cut shot to balls pitched on the middle stump, had a close call twice against Harbhajan close to the interval before completing his half-century in the same over off 57 balls.<br />It included the hooked six off Sreesanth and seven other boundary hits for fours.</p>
<p>Test cricket returned to the Brabourne Stadium after 36 years in front of a sparse crowd as Sri Lanka opted to bat first after skipper Kumar Sangakkara won the toss for the first time in the series.<br />Dilshan (51 batting) and Paranavitana (53) batted in a forthright manner and also brought up their best first wicket partnership in the rubber, 93 in 19.5 overs.<br /><br />Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh, brought in early into the attack just before the first hour, struck a big blow when he induced the left-handed Paranavitana (53) to drive and edge to Rahul Dravid at slip just 25 minutes before lunch.<br />The Lanka opener batted for 95 minutes and struck seven fours in his 81-ball knock.<br /><br />At the break, the 33-year-old Dilshan was batting with a fluently made 51, his 14th half century, off 63 balls studded with studded with seven fours and a six.<br />Lanka skipper Sangakkara (10 off 20 balls) was the other unbeaten batsman.<br />The visitors started briskly and rattled up 65 without loss in 12 overs in the first hour of play with both the openers finding their feet in decent batting conditions.<br /><br />The left-handed Paranavitana, playing in his 10th Test after making his debut in February this year against Pakistan, on-drove and square-drove S Sreesanth for fours in successive overs.<br />Dilshan then took Sreesanth apart in the latter's fifth over, hooking the Kerala pacer over square leg nonchalantly for a six and then pulled the bowler ferociously from outside the off stump for a four in successive balls.<br />The last ball of the over was flicked beautifully by the right-hander for another four prompting India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to introduce off spinner Harbhajan Singh just before the first hour's play ended from the Churchgate end.<br />Sreesanth's first spell read an unimpressive 5-0-32-0.<br />The other frontline spinner Pragyan Ojha later replaced Zaheer Khan, after the latter's eight-over spell in which he gave away 37 runs, when Sri Lanka were 76 without loss in 16 overs.<br />Dilshan then gave Ojha the charge twice to loft him straight for a four and then off-drove him for a second four in as many balls.<br />But Dilshan, who was not averse to playing the cut shot to balls pitched on the middle stump, had a close call twice against Harbhajan close to the interval before completing his half-century in the same over off 57 balls.<br />It included the hooked six off Sreesanth and seven other boundary hits for fours.</p>
