‘Clinical’ victory for India
Visitors crush injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in first Test
A vastly superior India on Saturday outclassed an injury-ravaged and out-of-sorts Sri Lanka by 304 runs in the opening Test to bury the ghosts of a humilating loss at the same venue, exactly two years ago.
India lead the three-match series 1-0.
This was India’s biggest overseas win (in terms of runs) surpassing 279 run-victory against England at Leeds in 1986. For Sri Lanka, it was their biggest defeat (in terms of runs), surpassing their 301-run loss against Pakistan in 1994.
A gigantic victory target of 550 was out of question for the hosts but they fizzled out in the final session of the fourth day to finish on 245 in 76.5 overs -- their innings terminated with injured skipper Rangana Herath and Asela Gunaratne ruled out.
This was after India captain Virat Kohli struck his 17th Test hundred with India declaring their second innings at 240 for three.
The Sri Lankans, especially their opener Dimuth Karunaratne (97) batted gutsily for the first two sessions reaching 192 for 4 at tea.
However Ravichandran Ashwin (3/65 in 27 overs) ran through the middle-order. Once Karunaratne was dismissed trying to play paddle sweep, it was all over for the islanders.
After the tea break, India made short work of proceedings. The breakthrough was achieved in the fifth over after the break. Niroshan Dickwella (67) top-edged off Ashwin with Wriddhiman Saha collecting an easy catch.
Dilruwan Perera (21 no) added 23 runs for the sixth wicket with Karunaratne. The Lankan resistance ended for all- purpose when the latter was bowled off Ashwin, dragging a sweep back onto his stumps. Overall, he faced 208 balls and hit 9 fours.
Two balls later, Virat Kohli took a great catch at leg slip and accounted for Nuwan Pradeep (0) as well. The end came swiftly when Lahiru Kumara (0) skied off Ravindra Jadeja (3/71).
Herath and Gunaratne were unable to bat owing to on-field injuries. Umesh Yadav (1/42) and Mohammed Shami (1/43) took a wicket apiece at the start of the innings.
In post-lunch, Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis (36) continued their partnership for the third wicket. The two batsmen looked to play for time and cut out any aggressive strokes. They did capitalise on run-scoring opportunities, as this atypical Galle pitch didn’t provide much support to the Indian spinners. In all, they put on 79 runs.
Karunaratne scored his 12th Test half-century off 81 balls. Overall, he faced 166 deliveries and hit 9 fours. In doing so, he brought up Sri Lanka’s 100 in the 27th over.
In the morning, starting from overnight 189/3, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane showed an eagerness to score runs. –PTI INDIA 1ST INNGS: 600 INDIA 2ND INNGS: 189/3 Dhawan c Gunathilaka b Perera .... 14 A Mukund lbw Gunathilaka ......... 81 C Pujara c Mendis b Kumara ......... 15 V Kohli not out ........................... 103 A Rahane not out ......................... 23 Extras: (B-0, Lb-1, W-2, Nb-1) ....... 4 Total: (For 3 wkts declared, 53 Ovs) 240 Bowler: Pradeep 12-2-63-0, Perera 15-0-67-1, Kumara 12- 1-59-1, Herath 9-0-34-0, Gunathilaka 5-0-16-1. SRI LANKA 1ST INNGS: 291 SRI LANKA 2ND INNGS: 245 Dimuth Karunaratne b Ashwin ..... 97 Upul Tharanga b Shami ................. 10 Gunathilaka c Pujara b Umesh ........ 2 Kusal Mendis c Saha b Jadeja ........ 36 Mathews c Pandya b Jadeja ............ 2 Dickwella c Saha b Ashwin ........... 67 Dilruwan Perera not out ............... 21 Nuwan Pradeep c Kohli b Ashwin..0 Lahiru Kumara c Shami b Jadeja .... 0 Rangana Herath abs hurt ............... 0 Das Gunaratne abs hurt ................. 0 Extras: (LB-3, W-7) ...................... 10 Total: (All-out in 76.5 Overs) ............ 245 Bowler: Mohammed Shami 9-0-43-1, Umesh Yadav 9-0-42-1, Ravindra Jadeja 24.5-4-71-3, Ravichandran Ashwin 274-65-3, Hardik Pandya 7-0-21-0.
VIRAT KOHLI