India vs Sri Lanka Test came to a callous end when the visitors took a decisive stand and secured a massive 178-run first innings victory with a brilliant century from Sonal Dinusha and a sharp 615-man second game from Mohanji. Manav Suthar opened his Test bow with four-wicket haul and Ravindra Jadeja found the back of the vest twice by grabbing three wickets as Sri Lanka got bowled out for 284 off India’s 462 in the second Test.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 90 for 5 at the start of a blistering second half but Dinusha’s maiden Test hundred and Niroshan Dickwella’s spirited 80 helped evitar the collapse. But both India and the hosts have very little time to aim for a victory given the poor lighting in the second innings.

Picking up the Sri Lankan count with a score of the tournament’s stuff, India started the hosts’ innings in a manner that any visiting team would aspire for. Mohammed Siraj scored a hat trick and Suthar made a sensational start. The young left armer’s first Test delivery found Dinesh Chandimal and the ball gave him a brilliant chance to take an off full, around the middle delivery turned and bounced in his hands. Immediate proof of the usefulness of flight, overspin and accuracy in the Sri Lankan country.

Suthar didn’t end there. He applied pressure with deliveries that kept seeing him beat the bat, before attacking Lahiru Udara with an overhead delivery in the attacking cut which was easily caught at backward point. As regards his control his effort was even more impressive as he dropped his length to around the 4-5 metre mark which Sri Lanka’s batters had suffered much in the past. Suthar hit at that area time and time again, which confused the opposition without having produced a monumental turn.

Kuldeep Yadav also contributed but he didn’t get a good boost until great fielding. Kamindu Mendis ran into the field in an aggressive manner to exploit but was caught by Kuldeep while up the field. Shubman Gill then flew out into short cover and dipped the ball up with his one hand just a few inches from the ground. Moments like those made it difficult for Sri Lanka to find a partnership for India.

Jadeja quickly got into bat and that was it! He was starting to deliver his turn difficult, especially the natural variations. That was a good challenge faced and answered by Dhananjaya de Silva who played off the beat and let the turn-out pass the outside edge. One could, however, not deliver it as it turned as much as one expected and as a result the edge was reached. While that went down as another career milestone for Jadeja, his dismissal marked a significant milestone for him as he became only the ninth spinner to cross the milestone of 350 Test wickets.

With 90 for 5, they were looking forward to a big deficit in Sri Lanka. But Dinusha and Dickwella shook up the batting order totally. The duo had a fantastic partnership of 146 runs in the sixth wicket partnership, due to the older and softer ball and reducing the rate of the Indian attack. The two batters were prepared to take the chances given situations, especially against the spinners.

Dickwella was a conventional sweeper who was very much on his own type of the ball against almost all lines. It was Dinusha who was more adventurous to mix up reverse sweeps, slog sweeps and conventional shots which made the Indian’s bowlers guess. He even got the sledger to clear the boundary with a just tricky slog-sweep. The duo set the ball rolling for Sri Lanka in an innings that ended with them avoiding the follow on.

The middle session was a big Sri Lankan affair as they hit four runs over and over with no wickets. Did there not come times of pressure for Dinusha and Dickwella with pressure tests by Siraj that tested the reverse swing of the two, but they outlasted them. But after tea, India came charging back!

Dickwella got on the score and scored 4 off the first ball. Dinusha then unleashed the Portuguese for six on his very first delivery. Prasidh eventually did find the breakthrough with an offside wobble seam delivery which caught Dickwella’s outside edge. Indeed, the ending of an extremely useful 80 ended Dickwella’s arguably competitive bid for his first Test century, but was far from that being a national concern.

Dinusha kept Sri Lanka’s hope alive, and eventually reached his first Test hundred. Prabath Jayasuriya remained on the hook until Sri Lanka broke over the follow-on target, but that was as long as the 37-year-old could offer some support. Suthar picked the wicket away with a top-edged slog sweep, adding to his four dismissals today.

Jadeja then went out to finish Dinusha and Lahiru Kumara then was stumped for Suthar’s fourth wicket with a fast delivery. All four of Suthar’s scalps were earned in the 4-5 metre length zone  a testament of his ability to put himself in the right length range.

However, good light came a hurdle in Sri Lanka’s way as they lost precious time without the ball and had to take 13 overs without scoring the first time as they headed back to India with a considerable 178-run first innings margin. India are thus at a disadvantage having less than the required number of overs to put on a wriggle.

Dinusha’s century and Dickwella’s 80 in the middle order had helped develop some much-needed resistance for the Sri Lankans, but the top order will need a lot more to offer India some resistance. For India, they have now opened the game with four wickets apiece, ahead of the competition, as Suthar opened the scoring and two wickets came from the Jadesky pen. The balance of the overs might now be intriguing to watch as to who will emerge victorious, India or Sri Lanka, who will want to ascend with the hope of being spared the fate of a losing cause.

The point is that India have picked up the deal and they are ahead but it is far from the end of the game. Sri Lanka have proved that a bunch of players can substitute the game within no time with Dinusha and Dickwella. If they’re to come within the limits to a win, then India have to score the rest of the remaining overs.

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