On a Chinnaswamy pitch with uncertain bounce and vicious turn, Sri Lanka never looked to have a chance despite bowling out India for 252 inside two sessions. The Indian bowlers proved the same, picking six wickets in just 30 overs of play, as Sri Lanka walked away with a deficit of 166 runs.
Earlier, Shreyas Iyer's blistering 92 drove India to a par total on this pitch. Even though Iyer missed out on his century, this was easily the best innings of his fledgling Test career. He tore apart the spin duo of Praveen Jayawickrama and Lasith Embuldeniya with disdain as wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
Once he reached his half-century with a massive six off Dhananjaya de Silva, Iyer shifted through the gears with ease. His 98-ball 92 comprised of 10 fours and four sixes.
Rishabh Pant, too, slammed 39 in 27 balls before getting bowled by Embuldeniya. Other than Pant and Iyer, only Hanuma Vihari (31) scored more than 30.
On a pitch where the Indian spinners were expected to wreak havoc, Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in his opening spell to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 14/2. That soon became 14/3 after Mohammed Shami removed Dimuth Karunaratne with his first ball.
Angelo Matthews's resilience ended when Bumrah pinned him leg-before for 43. Charitha Asalanka was the only Sri Lankan to fall to spin: he holed out to R. Ashwin off Axar Patel. Sri Lanka will resume Day 2 on 86/6.
India 252 (Shreyas Iyer 92; Praveen Jayawickrama 3-81) lead Sri Lanka 86/6 (Angelo Mathews 43; Jasprit Bumrah 3-15) by 166 runs.