After a dismal tour to Bangladesh, which saw the hosts winning the ODI series 2-1, flummoxed by 19-year old Mustafizur Rahman,and a good tour against Zimbabwe , winning the ODI Series 3-0 and levelling the t20i series at 1-1 captained by Ajinkya Rahane, the young Indian brigade travelled to Sri Lanka for a 3 match Test series. It was also Kumar Sangakkara's last test series as a Sri Lanka player. The classy left-hander was all set to retire from all forms of cricket, after losing in the Quarter-finals against Australia in the 2015 World Cup, before the Sri Lankan Cricket Board requested him to re-consider his decision. He decided to play 2 Test Matches against Pakistan and 2 against India, and then call it quits.
1st Test : Galle.
Sri Lanka after losing to Pakistan 2-1 at home, hoped for a better show in the first match. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat. Sri Lanka got off to a poor start. They lost half their side with just 60 on the board. Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's talisman, fell for just 5 runs, in the first innings of his penultimate test. Skipper Matthews and Chandimal stitched a 79 run partnership, before the former got out. Eventually Sri Lanka, were bowled out for 183, with Ashwin wrecking havoc, picking up 6 wickets. In reply, India also got off to a poor start , losing KL Rahul in the third over. Rohit Sharma , promoted to number 3, failed to get going and soon fell. Delhi boys, Dhawan and Kohli stitched a magnificent partnership. Both of them survived a few close calls and batted sensibly. There were a few mixups, but both of them batted with patience. Dhawan got to his hundred, and Kohli followed him soon, before, Kohli fell to Kaushal. His wicket brought an end to a 227 run stand. 255-3 became 302-6. India lost wickets at regular intervals. Had it not been for Saha's 60, India would've struggled to reach the 330 mark. India were eventually bundled out for 375. Kaushal picked up 5 wickets.
Sri Lanka trailing by 192, were reeling at 5-3. Sangakkara and Matthews batted patiently, before Ashwin prised out Sangakkara for 40, thanks to a blinder from Rahane at slip. Sangakkara walked off to a standing ovation from the Galle crowd. Matthews got out in the very next over. The two new batsmen Chandimal and Thirimanne, survived two rather easy calls, thanks to the umpire who did not notice the huge sound coming from the splice of the bat. Virat Kohli, was stunned as he saw two appeals, stand down, which were easy decisions. Worst part was that, both of them came in back to back overs. Chandimal attacked while Thirimanne, slowly rotated the strike. Thirimanne fell to Ashwin after adding 125 runs for the sixth wicket. Jehan Mubarak, also batted aggressively along with Dinesh Chandimal, who reached his first century against India. Mubarak fell for 49. There was a 41 run stand for the 9th wicket. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 367. Chandimal was unbeaten on 162. Ashwin picked up 4 wickets.
A target of 150+ is always daunting on a 4th day pitch. Rahul was sent back to the hut by Herath. Ishant Sharma, who came in as the night-watchman, showed some resistance, but was soon back at the pavilion. India kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Rahane showed a great deal of resistance and batted patiently but was caught at slip, thanks to a ripper of a delivery from Herath. 45-3 at one stage, India lost 7 wickets for just 67 runs in 28 overs. It was all Herath show as he ran through India's batting line-up picking up for 7 wickets as India were bundled out for 112. Dinesh Chandimal was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-saving and match-winning knock of 162*.
2nd Match : Colombo(PSS).
The stage was set for Sangakkara's last match. Matthews had promised the legendary batsman that the team would play their skins out to win the match, thereby giving him a fitting farewell. India won the toss and chose to bat. Murali Vijay , who missed the first match , replaced an injured Shikhar Dhawan, but was trapped in front in the 4th ball of the match. Ajinkya Rahane who was sent in at 3 after Rohit Sharma failed to perform at the same position, fell to Chameera. Rahul and skipper Kohli , batted sensibly.Both of them rotated the strike well and dispatched the lose balls to the boundary. Skipper Kohli got out for 78 after adding 164 for the 3rd wicket. Rahul soon reached his century, his second test century. He was so desperate waiting for it , that he had to put in the big dive while completing the second run which brought up his century. One had to admit that Herath was bowling splendidly well, though he was hit for 10 runs in 3 balls by Rohit Sharma in an over. The flight and the turn he generated made life difficult for the Indian batsmen. After Rahul fell, Rohit Sharma managed to stay in the middle for some overs before getting out for a well made 79. Saha, who was undone by a beauty in the send innings of the first match, played well and contributed 56. Mishra chipped in with 24 runs as well, as India were all out for 393, with Herath yet again being the star of the Sri Lankan Bowwling attack as he picked up 4 wickets. Sri Lanka after being 1-1 a one stage, recovered well in the form of Silva and Sangakkara, the latter playing his penultimate innings as a Sri Lankan player after he was welcomed with a guard of honour by the Indian players. Sangakkara nicked one to slip, which left the crowd and his wife , stunned. Silva fell after showing some resistance. Skipper Matthews joined Thirimanne in the middle. Both of them played cautiously and both of them brought their individual half centuries before Thirimanne was caught behind off Ishant Sharma. Hero of the first match, Chandimal couldn't give skipper Matthews support as he fell and was followed by Mubarak. Matthews did reach his century , but the lower order didn't show much resistance as Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 306 with leggie, Amit Sharma picking up 4 wickets. He was also instrumental, as he bowled with vigour.
India,87 runs ahead, lost centurion, Rahul very early. Rahane, who was dismissed for a single digit in the first match, batted sensibly along with Murali Vijay as the pair added a 140 runs for the second wicket before the opener was trapped in front for 82. Kohli was also trapped in front by the same bowler, Kaushal for 10. Rahane brought his first century in Sri Lanka and was supported well by his Ranji teammate Rohit Sharma as the pair added 85 runs for the 4th wicket before the latter was dismissed, only to be followed by Rahane in the space of 2 overs. Saha, Ashwin and Mishra got starts but couldn't convert it into big ones. India declared with 325 runs on the board with a healthy lead of 412 runs. Virat wanted the Sri Lankans to survive a few overs and his plan worked out well as Sri Lanka lost Silva and Sangakkara. Sangakkara's dismissal was similar to the one in the first innings. He got out to Ashwin 4 times in as many innings. His dismissal left the crowd stunned, yet again but they soon came out of it and he walked into the pavilion with a standing ovation. All the Indian players congratulated the legendary batsman for his prolific career. Matthews was dismissed in the very first ball of the fifth day of the test match. That initiated the Sri Lankan collapse as the middle order and the lower order batsman failed to show resistance as Ashwin rattled through the Sri Lankan batting line up as they were eventually bundled out for 134 runs, giving India a 278 run victory, the first win for Virat Kohli as a captain. It was also India's first win after 399 days. Rahul was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century in the first innings. Sangakkara got emotional during his farewell speech in the presentation ceremony. Virat Kohli heaped praise on Sri Lanka's talisman both on the social media and during the presentation ceremony.
3rd Test Match : Colombo (SSC)
Murali Vijay and Saha were ruled out with injuries. Pujara and debutant Naman Ojha, came in at their place. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field. The pitch had grass on it and it was an ideal track for pacers. Centurions of the second test match, Rahul and Rahane , were dismissed cheaply as India were in all sorts of trouble. Kohli , Rohit and Naman Ojha, all got starts.But it was Pujara, who converted his start into a big one. He opened the innings for India, which is not his position in the batting order. Yet, he played patiently. He also had a good county season at England. He was India's only hope as wickets kept on tumbling at the other end. Dammika Prasad was instrumental, as he bowled with pace and swing. He bowled in the right areas and had the Indian batsmen in all sorts. Amit Mishra contributed with 59 vital runs. Pujara carried his bat as he scored a 145 as India were bowled out for 312 runs. Prasad picked up 4 wickets and Herath, was among the wickets as well. Sri Lanka replaced Kumar Sangakkara with Upul Tharanga who opened the innings. Karunarathne who opened the innings in the first two test matches came at 3. Sri Lanka were reeling at 47-6. Kusal Perera, who is often called as Sri Lanka's next Sanath Jayasuriya, scored 55 off 56 in his first test innings. Herath offered resistance but it was too much for the left arm spinner as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 201 runs, with lanky Ishant Sharma who tormented Sri Lankan batsmen with short stuff, picking up 5 wickets. It was almost a recap of what he had done at Lord's last year, though his figures (7-74) were different.
India having a lead of 111 runs, were off to a dreadful start as Prasad cleaned up Pujara with a peach of a delivery. Rahul shouldered his arms, only to hear the sound of the stumps getting rattled, for the second tie in as many innings. His stats, show that , he either fails, or scores centuries. India lost 4 wickets for 64 runs before a 54 run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny saved India from the blues before the former got out for 50. Naman Ojha got out trying for the big shot, a replay of his first innings dismissal. Ashwin and Mishra played extremely well and scored 58 and 39 respectively. There was an on field spat between Ishant Sharma and Prasad. Ishant Sharma kept on banging his helmet, indicating Prasad to direct his bouncers to his head rather than targeting to his chest. Chandimal also had a few words to exchange, which angered Ashwin. The umpires had to sort out this situation. India were bundled out for 274 runs, setting Sri Lanka a target of 386 runs. Apart from Angelo Matthews and Kusal Perera , none of them kept going. There were a few starts from Silva, Chandimal and Thirimanne, but only Matthews played responsibly , scoring a 110. Kusal played his part and scored 70, also put up a 135 run stand with the skipper. Ishant Sharma and Ashwin ran through the Sri Lankan order picking up 3 and 4 wickets respectively as India went on to win the match by 117 runs thereby clinching the series 2-1. Pujara was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century on a tough pitch and Ravi Ashwin was awarded the Man of the Series for picking up 21 wickets.
It was an emotional series for the Sri Lankan fans as Sangakkara bid farewell. Ravi Ashwin was the part pooper picking up the talisman's wicket 4 times in as many innings. Stuart Binny seems to be the lucky mascot for the Indian team as , they won all the matches in which he has played. One at Lords and two at Colombo. He replaced Harbhajan Singh, who tried to make a comeback, but failed miserably as he could pick up only 1 wicket in the first match in which India went on to lose. Overall it was an amazing team effort from the young lads who were fired up and they played under a new captain in the form of Virat Kohli who now holds the record of the first Indian captain to win a test series after 22 years. It is also his first series win as a captain. I am hoping for more from the young Delhi lad. And I do hope that , he'll keep our heads high.
Our Next Assignment : South Africa. Well, that's a very very long tour!
1st Test : Galle.
Sri Lanka after losing to Pakistan 2-1 at home, hoped for a better show in the first match. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat. Sri Lanka got off to a poor start. They lost half their side with just 60 on the board. Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's talisman, fell for just 5 runs, in the first innings of his penultimate test. Skipper Matthews and Chandimal stitched a 79 run partnership, before the former got out. Eventually Sri Lanka, were bowled out for 183, with Ashwin wrecking havoc, picking up 6 wickets. In reply, India also got off to a poor start , losing KL Rahul in the third over. Rohit Sharma , promoted to number 3, failed to get going and soon fell. Delhi boys, Dhawan and Kohli stitched a magnificent partnership. Both of them survived a few close calls and batted sensibly. There were a few mixups, but both of them batted with patience. Dhawan got to his hundred, and Kohli followed him soon, before, Kohli fell to Kaushal. His wicket brought an end to a 227 run stand. 255-3 became 302-6. India lost wickets at regular intervals. Had it not been for Saha's 60, India would've struggled to reach the 330 mark. India were eventually bundled out for 375. Kaushal picked up 5 wickets.
Sri Lanka trailing by 192, were reeling at 5-3. Sangakkara and Matthews batted patiently, before Ashwin prised out Sangakkara for 40, thanks to a blinder from Rahane at slip. Sangakkara walked off to a standing ovation from the Galle crowd. Matthews got out in the very next over. The two new batsmen Chandimal and Thirimanne, survived two rather easy calls, thanks to the umpire who did not notice the huge sound coming from the splice of the bat. Virat Kohli, was stunned as he saw two appeals, stand down, which were easy decisions. Worst part was that, both of them came in back to back overs. Chandimal attacked while Thirimanne, slowly rotated the strike. Thirimanne fell to Ashwin after adding 125 runs for the sixth wicket. Jehan Mubarak, also batted aggressively along with Dinesh Chandimal, who reached his first century against India. Mubarak fell for 49. There was a 41 run stand for the 9th wicket. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 367. Chandimal was unbeaten on 162. Ashwin picked up 4 wickets.
A target of 150+ is always daunting on a 4th day pitch. Rahul was sent back to the hut by Herath. Ishant Sharma, who came in as the night-watchman, showed some resistance, but was soon back at the pavilion. India kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Rahane showed a great deal of resistance and batted patiently but was caught at slip, thanks to a ripper of a delivery from Herath. 45-3 at one stage, India lost 7 wickets for just 67 runs in 28 overs. It was all Herath show as he ran through India's batting line-up picking up for 7 wickets as India were bundled out for 112. Dinesh Chandimal was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-saving and match-winning knock of 162*.
2nd Match : Colombo(PSS).
The stage was set for Sangakkara's last match. Matthews had promised the legendary batsman that the team would play their skins out to win the match, thereby giving him a fitting farewell. India won the toss and chose to bat. Murali Vijay , who missed the first match , replaced an injured Shikhar Dhawan, but was trapped in front in the 4th ball of the match. Ajinkya Rahane who was sent in at 3 after Rohit Sharma failed to perform at the same position, fell to Chameera. Rahul and skipper Kohli , batted sensibly.Both of them rotated the strike well and dispatched the lose balls to the boundary. Skipper Kohli got out for 78 after adding 164 for the 3rd wicket. Rahul soon reached his century, his second test century. He was so desperate waiting for it , that he had to put in the big dive while completing the second run which brought up his century. One had to admit that Herath was bowling splendidly well, though he was hit for 10 runs in 3 balls by Rohit Sharma in an over. The flight and the turn he generated made life difficult for the Indian batsmen. After Rahul fell, Rohit Sharma managed to stay in the middle for some overs before getting out for a well made 79. Saha, who was undone by a beauty in the send innings of the first match, played well and contributed 56. Mishra chipped in with 24 runs as well, as India were all out for 393, with Herath yet again being the star of the Sri Lankan Bowwling attack as he picked up 4 wickets. Sri Lanka after being 1-1 a one stage, recovered well in the form of Silva and Sangakkara, the latter playing his penultimate innings as a Sri Lankan player after he was welcomed with a guard of honour by the Indian players. Sangakkara nicked one to slip, which left the crowd and his wife , stunned. Silva fell after showing some resistance. Skipper Matthews joined Thirimanne in the middle. Both of them played cautiously and both of them brought their individual half centuries before Thirimanne was caught behind off Ishant Sharma. Hero of the first match, Chandimal couldn't give skipper Matthews support as he fell and was followed by Mubarak. Matthews did reach his century , but the lower order didn't show much resistance as Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 306 with leggie, Amit Sharma picking up 4 wickets. He was also instrumental, as he bowled with vigour.
India,87 runs ahead, lost centurion, Rahul very early. Rahane, who was dismissed for a single digit in the first match, batted sensibly along with Murali Vijay as the pair added a 140 runs for the second wicket before the opener was trapped in front for 82. Kohli was also trapped in front by the same bowler, Kaushal for 10. Rahane brought his first century in Sri Lanka and was supported well by his Ranji teammate Rohit Sharma as the pair added 85 runs for the 4th wicket before the latter was dismissed, only to be followed by Rahane in the space of 2 overs. Saha, Ashwin and Mishra got starts but couldn't convert it into big ones. India declared with 325 runs on the board with a healthy lead of 412 runs. Virat wanted the Sri Lankans to survive a few overs and his plan worked out well as Sri Lanka lost Silva and Sangakkara. Sangakkara's dismissal was similar to the one in the first innings. He got out to Ashwin 4 times in as many innings. His dismissal left the crowd stunned, yet again but they soon came out of it and he walked into the pavilion with a standing ovation. All the Indian players congratulated the legendary batsman for his prolific career. Matthews was dismissed in the very first ball of the fifth day of the test match. That initiated the Sri Lankan collapse as the middle order and the lower order batsman failed to show resistance as Ashwin rattled through the Sri Lankan batting line up as they were eventually bundled out for 134 runs, giving India a 278 run victory, the first win for Virat Kohli as a captain. It was also India's first win after 399 days. Rahul was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century in the first innings. Sangakkara got emotional during his farewell speech in the presentation ceremony. Virat Kohli heaped praise on Sri Lanka's talisman both on the social media and during the presentation ceremony.
3rd Test Match : Colombo (SSC)
Murali Vijay and Saha were ruled out with injuries. Pujara and debutant Naman Ojha, came in at their place. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field. The pitch had grass on it and it was an ideal track for pacers. Centurions of the second test match, Rahul and Rahane , were dismissed cheaply as India were in all sorts of trouble. Kohli , Rohit and Naman Ojha, all got starts.But it was Pujara, who converted his start into a big one. He opened the innings for India, which is not his position in the batting order. Yet, he played patiently. He also had a good county season at England. He was India's only hope as wickets kept on tumbling at the other end. Dammika Prasad was instrumental, as he bowled with pace and swing. He bowled in the right areas and had the Indian batsmen in all sorts. Amit Mishra contributed with 59 vital runs. Pujara carried his bat as he scored a 145 as India were bowled out for 312 runs. Prasad picked up 4 wickets and Herath, was among the wickets as well. Sri Lanka replaced Kumar Sangakkara with Upul Tharanga who opened the innings. Karunarathne who opened the innings in the first two test matches came at 3. Sri Lanka were reeling at 47-6. Kusal Perera, who is often called as Sri Lanka's next Sanath Jayasuriya, scored 55 off 56 in his first test innings. Herath offered resistance but it was too much for the left arm spinner as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 201 runs, with lanky Ishant Sharma who tormented Sri Lankan batsmen with short stuff, picking up 5 wickets. It was almost a recap of what he had done at Lord's last year, though his figures (7-74) were different.
India having a lead of 111 runs, were off to a dreadful start as Prasad cleaned up Pujara with a peach of a delivery. Rahul shouldered his arms, only to hear the sound of the stumps getting rattled, for the second tie in as many innings. His stats, show that , he either fails, or scores centuries. India lost 4 wickets for 64 runs before a 54 run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny saved India from the blues before the former got out for 50. Naman Ojha got out trying for the big shot, a replay of his first innings dismissal. Ashwin and Mishra played extremely well and scored 58 and 39 respectively. There was an on field spat between Ishant Sharma and Prasad. Ishant Sharma kept on banging his helmet, indicating Prasad to direct his bouncers to his head rather than targeting to his chest. Chandimal also had a few words to exchange, which angered Ashwin. The umpires had to sort out this situation. India were bundled out for 274 runs, setting Sri Lanka a target of 386 runs. Apart from Angelo Matthews and Kusal Perera , none of them kept going. There were a few starts from Silva, Chandimal and Thirimanne, but only Matthews played responsibly , scoring a 110. Kusal played his part and scored 70, also put up a 135 run stand with the skipper. Ishant Sharma and Ashwin ran through the Sri Lankan order picking up 3 and 4 wickets respectively as India went on to win the match by 117 runs thereby clinching the series 2-1. Pujara was adjudged the Man of the Match for his century on a tough pitch and Ravi Ashwin was awarded the Man of the Series for picking up 21 wickets.
It was an emotional series for the Sri Lankan fans as Sangakkara bid farewell. Ravi Ashwin was the part pooper picking up the talisman's wicket 4 times in as many innings. Stuart Binny seems to be the lucky mascot for the Indian team as , they won all the matches in which he has played. One at Lords and two at Colombo. He replaced Harbhajan Singh, who tried to make a comeback, but failed miserably as he could pick up only 1 wicket in the first match in which India went on to lose. Overall it was an amazing team effort from the young lads who were fired up and they played under a new captain in the form of Virat Kohli who now holds the record of the first Indian captain to win a test series after 22 years. It is also his first series win as a captain. I am hoping for more from the young Delhi lad. And I do hope that , he'll keep our heads high.
Our Next Assignment : South Africa. Well, that's a very very long tour!
