India and Sri Lanka settled for an even bite of the cherry as the first Test match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata ended in a draw. The thoroughly entertaining Test match was marked by a dominant performance from the bowlers of both sides while the batsmen had very less to do. India were just three wickets for a remarkable comeback victory after the Lions dominated the first half of the encounter.
Suranga Lakmal took charge with the ball for Sri Lanka and wrecked havoc in the Indian batting order in the first innings as the hosts got bundled out for a mere 172 runs. Bhuveneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami of India also fared decently in the first innings with the ball. But the Bhuvi-Shami pair weaved magic in the second innings when Sri Lanka came down to chase a target of 231 runs for a win.
Photo by Deepak Malik / BCCI / Sportzpics
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was brilliant up front as he leads the attack and rattled several woodworks. Mohammad Shami provided the perfect support to his partner from the other side. Umesh Yadav also kept up with his teammates and managed to bag scalps in both the innings.
Quite strangely, ace Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who top the world ranking chart too went wicketless in the Test match. The Indian pacers picked up 17 wickets among themselves (Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8, Mohammad Shami 6, Umesh Yadav 3) while the spinners failed to manage even a solitary one.
This is the first time India witnessed such a situation in Test cricket played at home. Though the spinners did not contribute to the wickets tally, India came massively close to winning the first Test as the Sri Lankans toiled at 75/7 when time ran out. Dinesh Chandimal and his men must have taken a sigh of relief as the battle at the Eden Gardens ended without a result.
