Sri Lanka vs. India, 3rd Test, Day 2: Pujara's Determination Pulls India Through

India finished Day 2 of the deciding Test against Sri Lanka on 292-8, largely thanks to a determined effort from Cheteshwar Pujara.

Playing in his first Test since 2014, the 27-year old knuckled down and notched up an unbeaten 135 off 277 to save face for India. Dhammika Prasad was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka on a day where the rain stayed away.

We've picked some talking points from the second day.

Cheteshwar Pujara, the comeback kid

When Pujara first made his Test debut, almost five years ago now, he only played in two Tests. It wasn’t until 2012 that he announced himself with two centuries and a double ton in four Tests. He continued to impress, but a poor run of form in 2014 saw him fall out of favour slightly.

Now, back in the team for the deciding Test, Pujara has shown that class is indeed permanent.

On a day where India could have found themselves red-faced, after being reduced to 119-5, Pujara knuckled down and steadied the ship. Whether or not this effort is enough to secure him a spot in the team for the South Africa series, we’ll have to wait and see, but to see Pujara back to his best is great.

Opening the batting on a green track and digging in to help India save face should go a long way to building his case, though.

Dhammika Prasad does it with line and length

Prasad wasn't the most economical Sri Lankan bowler, but he did constantly probe India's batsmen with his line and length. His hard graft earned him four wickets, including two top-order batsmen.

What makes Prasad's performance even more impressive is that he was bowling with a slight injury. Focusing on off-stump, Prasad found some seam, and while there is a long way to go in this Test yet, his persistence did the job for Sri Lanka.

Is a result still possible?

The answer to this question will largely depend on what the weather does in the next few days. The first day was already washed out, and thanks to Pujara’s effort, India have put themselves in a good position to avoid defeat.

But stranger things have happened in cricket, and this has been a strange series. Sri Lanka need to wrap things up quickly on Day 3 and hope the weather plays along if they are to force a result here.

The wonder of the leave

Under Virat Kohli, India have often opted for the all-guns-blazing approach. Pujara, however, reminded everyone that sometimes the subtle approach can work, too.

Good running between the wickets ushered him along, but he mastered leave after leave and showed no signs of crumbling under the pressure of mounting dot balls.

Every so often, Pujara would relieve that pressure with a boundary, but patience and perseverance did the trick overall. It’s always been the Pujara way to block, block and block, though.

Inconsistency at the top of India’s order

Some of India’s top-order musical chairs have been down to injury, but three new opening batsmen in three Tests doesn’t exactly do wonders for allowing the team to settle.

With a tough home series against South Africa coming up, India need to decide on a combination and stick with it for the whole series, even if some of those batsmen have a poor innings.