The last time when India played at Galle – the same venue where the first Test match of the series is in operation currently – Rangana Herath bamboozled the Indian batsmen, and spun the game in favour of his team, even when the target was mere 176.
A flabbergasted start to the tour and first loss for Virat Kohli as a regular captain of team India. India once suffered a defeat under the same man in 2014 but he stood as a stand-in of MS Dhoni in that game.
The tough times had begun for Kohli. He was yet to earn the understand the nuisance of captaincy in Test cricket as Test captaincy came to him quite early. He made his debut in 2011. He had a just handful of experience of playing in overseas conditions in Test cricket.
The loss was a big jitter for the skipper, who had utmost confidence of leading a young side straight to a triumph. History was created after the rest of the two games were played and Virat Kohli registered his name in the record books.
Here is how the India voyage to Sri Lanka unfolded two years back –
First Test, August 12-15, Galle
Ranga’s magical arm and an easy surrender –
Taking inspiration from the bowling of Yasir Shah – the Pakistan leg-spinner – Indian skipper Virat Kohli took a bold step and played with all three spinners on the side viz Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin. Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron were the two pacers. There was a surprise drop in form of Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay’s injury meant that KL Rahul was given a chance here.
Starting the day with the right brand new shining cherry in hand, both Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron made the best use of the new ball and grabbed a wicket apiece to allow the spinners come up and do their job.
Once again, R Ashwin showed that he is India’s future and Bhajji is a thing of past when he pouched a six far-to pack the bags of Sri Lanka on 183 in the first innings. The tour started on a positive note for India and on the first day of the game, it was clear that the match will not extend up to the fifth day.
Within 10 overs of coming into bat, visitors lost the first two wickets with a score of 28. Virat Kohli was a tensed man in the dressing room but he with his state mate Shikhar Dhawan, steered India ahead and added 227 runs for the third wicket, which helped the team put up 375 on the board and also gain a lead of 192 runs.
Sri Lanka had a steep mountain ahead of them. First, they had to bring down the lead of 192 runs and then start from zero again. Meanwhile, the pitch had started to speak in favour of spinners. As expected, both the Lankan openers were back in the pavilion for the last time in the game on a duck. It looked like an easy task waits for Indian bowlers but Dinesh Chandimal – the rising star of Sri Lanka then – shone at a time when clouds of darkness were sailing over the team. An innings of 162* off 169 from his bat changed the course of the game and Sri Lanka put up a three figure mark of 367 on the board. But on-field umpires deserves a special praise as well as they had a crucial role in their innings. The howlers committed by them went in favour of batsmen and was a punishment for the bowlers.
A target of 176 was what team India needed. The number seems to quite an easy one, especially when a team has likes of Virat Kohli on the side but the track was aiding spinners and had started taking a vicious turn. Wild turn. The ball was moving like a top.
Rangana Herath’s magical arm was enough to make the most use of it. India was one down at the enclosure of day and needed 153 runs with nine wickets on the ultimate day.
Even before any wicket could fall down, Indian had already created pressure on them. For the first forty-five minutes in the day, Shikhar Dhawan did not even score a single run and the other batsmen felt the pressure of it. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were back in pavilion and Dhawan, after showing a lazy effort which lasted for 83 deliveries, had a long walk back.
After his wicket, it was a mere a formality as Rangana Herath’s golden arm had started producing wickets, which flattened Indian batsmen. They cringed in front of the vicious spin of Ranga and lost the first Test match by a margin of 63 runs, chasing just 176.
Sri Lanka delivered the first blow to India and Virat Kohli was the captain in the dock. He had to swallow the tablet and encourage himself to make a comeback in the next Test.
Ravi Shastri though was a confident man and knew that the Indian team will make a comeback in the series.
Second Test, August 20-24, Colombov (PSS)
Sangakkara bids adieu to the game, India take strong revenge
Kumar Sangakkara, probably the best batsman Sri Lanka have ever had, had already stated his plan of quitting the international cricket before the start of the series. The biggest farewell gift to him could have been the series victory there and then, an event to which Sri Lanka could even come close to but were yet so far.
Dented Indian team learnt bagful of lessons from the defeat in the first game. They did not give slender of a chance to Sri Lanka to come into the game and bowlers too were successful in spoiling Sanga’s farewell party.
Riding on a century from KL Rahul, India scored 393 in the first innings. Herath again emerged out as the highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka but this time, Indian batsmen showed a propensity to stand against him.
Sri Lanka was right behind India’s total and at the end of 10 wickets; they found themselves trailing by 87 runs, a margin which they hoped to cover when chasing the target.
It was India’s second innings in the game and a fear of deja vu was brewing there. Rangana Herath was introduced straight away to pair with Dhamika Prasad. Indian batsmen had already prepared note after the loss in the first innings and worked hard to tackle the spin of Herath. In the end, the left-arm spinner went wicket less and India posted a score in excess of 300 for the second time in the game, to ask Sri Lanka chase down a mountainous total of 413 in the final innings.
Lanka’s party had already been spoilt when they were asked to chase this much total and further disappointment came when Sangakkara was dismissed on a score of 18. Thousands of people who had gathered there to see him play a match winning innings were left disappointed and in the end, Lanka lost the game.
There were most talks of Sanga’s retirement than India winning the game and the contest marked an end to the career of one of the best icons of the game, which is still shining in county cricket for Surrey.
Third Test, August 28- September 1, Colombo (SSC)
Debut for Naman Ojha, India create history
Naman Ojha had played an ODI and two T20I for India in 2010. An injury to Wridhiman Saha saw during India tour to England in 2014 earned Ojha his maiden call up to the Test side but he did not play as MS Dhoni was still an active Test player then.
A second callup came in Sri Lanka and this time, there was no MS Dhoni. Ojha already knew that he will be making his debut in the third and final Test, which could also be his final game, until and unless he breaks the record of Lawrence Rowe – former Windies player who has a record of most runs on Test debut i.e. 314. Ojha became the 285th Test player for India.
KL Rahul continued his policy of everything or nothing and after coming from a century in the second game, he was bowled on second delivery of the game on a score of two. An early jitter could have stymied team India’s quest of putting up a big total but Chetehwar Puajara assured that wasn’t the case.
He became only the fourth Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid to carry his bat in Test cricket. He came to open the innings and went back in the pavilion after watching all his partners getting dismissed in one or the other way.
Pujara’s innings helped India cross the barrier of 300 for the third time, thanks to Amit Mishra’s innings of 59.for For the third time, Sri Lanka found themselves in a trailing position after they were bundled out for 201. The match was in a perfect situation where from any result was possible.
Sri Lanka was asked to chase a score 386 runs to close the series. The scenario was crystal clear, 10 wickets for India and 386 runs for Sri Lanka would decide who will lift the trophy.
Hosts lost two early wickets on the same score and found themselves in trouble. Skipper Angelo Mathews and Kusal Perera stamped their foot on the crease for the next 38 overs. They stood there for a span of 228 deliveries and became a big trouble for India, who were expecting to take the series home from there.
All the weapons of India were failing but in the end, it was the batsman who himself gifted his wicket. A thought to play a reverse sweep to test something new against R Ashwin and Perera was caught by Rohit Sharma. Indian boys heaved a sigh of relief. Ashwin had come up with a wicket, which was the only thing needed at that time. After Perera’s wicket, it was just a matter of 54 balls before India packed Sri Lanka to stake a claim on the series which had not started in a way they wanted.
With the win, Virat Kohli became the first captain after a period of 22 years to win a series in Sri Lanka. After a period of two years, Kohli is again travelling to Sri Lanka and if he is able to emulate his success of the past tour, then he will become the first ever Indian captain to win two series in the island country, which will be his first step towards greatness.