The Indian bowlers took on the baton from the batsmen on the morning sessions of Day 4 as the Sri Lankan team lost wickets at regular intervals. The Sri Lankan batsmen played some rash shots to throw away their wickets in front of some tight bowling presented by the Indian bowlers as everybody got their name on the wicket list. Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal tried to show some resistance, but lost partners at the other end as they were bowled out for 166 runs handing India a win by an innings and 239 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin after having a wicketless first Test at Eden Gardens is back on the mould as they did the bulk of the job picking up 13 wickets out of the total 20 wickets that fell. The new pace duo of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma were clinical to back the spinners as they bowled some crunch lines making the batsmen make the mistakes. Ishant Sharma, who got an opportunity after Mohammad Shami got a slight niggle, proved his worth by picking up five crucial wickets in this match.
India declared after posting a mammoth total of 610 for the loss of six wickets in reply to Sri Lanka’s 205 in the first innings with the help of three centuries and one double-century from Virat Kohli, which marked his 5th Test double century. Virat Kohli scored runs at ease and broke a handful of records on his way to scoring his fifth double ton. Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay, who made their comeback into the Test team utilised the opportunity by scoring individual hundred in a flat Nagpur deck. Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been consistently scoring runs once again showed his high-class temperament as he played a patient knock of 143 runs. Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath continued his dismal run against the Indian team, and he failed to impress in a pitch, where much was expected out of him.
Sri Lankan batsmen couldn’t convert the starts into big scores as they got out playing untimely shots in both the innings. However, Chandimal showed some glimpses of form with the bat which will be a positive sign for the visitors in the third and final Test.
Left-handed opener Dimuth Karunaratne also played some good shots on the first day of the Test match, and the Sri Lankan team management will bank on him to give a good start in the upcoming fixtures.
India will look to continue their winning run and finish on a high note before the upcoming South Africa tour, where they will be greeted with green and bouncy wickets. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be eager to level the series and go to limited over series with high confidence when they lock horns against each other for the third and final at Kotla from December 2.
Brief Score: Sri Lanka 205 & 166 (Chandimal 61, Lakmal 31*) Ashwin 4/63 Jadeja 2/28
India: 610/6 dec. ( Kohli 213, Pujara 143) Dilruwan Perera 3/202
India won by an innings and 239 runs to lead the series 1-0