Sri Lanka send India reeling in first Test

Sri Lanka's new-look pace attack of Chanaka Welegedara and Dammika Prasad ripped through India's top order at the start of the first Test here on Monday.

Left-armer Welegedara claimed three wickets in his first four overs and Prasad took one as India slid to 32-4 by the eighth over before recovering to 105-4 by lunch on the opening day.

Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh rescued India from the early blows by adding 73 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket.

Dravid went to lunch unbeaten on 45 with four boundaries and a six, while left-hander Yuvraj was on 35.

Some 10,000 home fans at the Motera stadium, who had hoped to see batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar start a third decade in Test cricket with a bang, were stunned to see wickets fall in a heap.

Tendulkar, the world's leading Test and one-day batsman, smashed the first ball he faced to the cover fence, but fell two deliveries later when he was bowled by a jubilant Welegedara.

Welegedara and Prasad, who had just four Test appearances between them, justified their selection ahead of the more experienced duo of Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara.

Few expected the havoc to follow after Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and promptly elected to bat on a hard, brown wicket that appeared full of runs.

Welegedara, working up a tidy pace, bowled Gautam Gambhir in his second over and trapped Virender Sehwag leg-before in his fourth to reduce India to 27-2.

Tendulkar followed Sehwag in the same over, before Prasad uprooted Venkatsai Laxman's off-stump six balls later to increase India's woes.

Welegedara, playing only his second Test, gave away just 28 runs in his opening spell of seven overs, before he was replaced by off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.