CHENNAI, Dec 5: India recovered to 90 for two against Sri Lanka after Chaminda Vaas’s twin strikes had pushed them back in their first innings on the fourth day of the first Test on Monday. Captain Rahul Dravid (30) and Sachin Tendulkar (11) shared an undefeated third wicket stand of 45 on a two-paced pitch after Vaas dismissed openers Gautam Gambhir (0) and Virender Sehwag (36) with the team’s total at 45.

The hosts won the toss and opted to bat in the afternoon after the first three days were washed out. Only 32.3 overs could be bowled, with bad light further curtailing play.

Vaas bowled Gambhir in the third over of the innings with a delivery that skidded through the gap between the left-hander’s bat and pad.

The loss of an early wicket and the conditions of the pitch, however, did not curb Sehwag’s natural instincts.

The Delhi batsman lashed Dilhara Fernando for five boundaries, forcing the bowler to be taken off the attack.

The wily Vaas forced the batsman to play and miss on a few occasions. Sehwag did play a few shots against the left-armer, but Vaas deceived him with clever change of pace, forcing him to drive uppishly for skipper Marvan Atapattu to hold a spectacular catch at short-cover.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan derived considerable turn and bounce and soon operated with four catchers around the bat.

Dravid and Tendulkar took 13 and 12 deliveries respectively to get off their marks. Muralitharan beat Dravid on a few occasions, but the Indian captain showed his mastery over the conditions in his 122-minute vigil, defending dourly while at the same time playing some authoritative drives.

Tendulkar, who is a step away from become the highest Test century-maker, did not score a boundary in his 90-minute stay in the middle. Caution had been the need of the hour, and he did just that.

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