Last Updated on 13 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
India’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) have taken a hit after Sri Lanka fought superbly to earn a draw in the second and final Test at Colombo.
Sonal Dinusha was the star yet again, hitting his third century in four innings this series to guide the hosts to safety. He made an unbeaten 133 off 264 balls in the second innings after an impressive 103 off 162 balls in the first.
Sonal was supported magnificently by Sri Lanka’s lower order. Keshara Nuwantha (150 balls), Prabath Jayasuriya (28 balls), Lahiru Kumara (90 balls) and Asitha Fernando (24 balls) faced a combined 292 deliveries to keep India at bay. Nuwantha in particular was a thorn in India’s side, facing 311 balls across the two Tests.
India are left to rue a missed opportunity. Given their predicament in the WTC, a 2-0 win in Sri Lanka was vital to improve their win percentage and stay within sight of the top two with series against New Zealand and Australia to come.
After scoring 503/9d, they enforced the follow on but couldn’t get the job done despite having the hosts six down at stumps on day four. Sri Lanka batted an impressive 154 overs in the second innings, putting on a masterclass against the spinners despite the turn and bounce available.
Shubman Gill defends decisions after draw in the second Test in Colombo
Captain Shubman Gill said while turn was available, it was slow. But he did not stop short of giving Sri Lanka the credit they deserve.
“They played quite well,” Gill said, as quoted by Cricinfo. “Generally on days four and five, it doesn’t happen that LBW and bowled are completely out of the game. The balls that turned, they turned slowly and bounced quite high. So if batters are playing defensively, there is only mode of dismissal left: catches around the wicket.
“In such a situation, we attacked a lot, but we were also under a little bit of pressure. Then we had to pull them back a little. But I think the pitch just kept getting slower. It is not as though the ball didn’t turn, but the wickets were not in play at all. As a batter when you know these two mode of dismissals are not in play, batting gets a little easier especially when you are not looking to score runs.
“We tried our best. They also played really well. It is not as though the pitch was totally flat. So they deserve the credit for playing really well. On day four we created chances and momentum; if we could have got one or more wickets then maybe the result would have been different.”
India’s next Test assignment is a two-match series in New Zealand. With a win percentage of 51.52, they face a big fight to make next year’s WTC Final.
“We are going to New Zealand in November, so that’s a good series for us, then we’ve got a good home series coming. So hopefully if we have a good New Zealand series, as long as we have a chance, we always keep believing & hopefully we’ll make it to the finals,” Gill said.
India fans react to draw against Sri Lanka in Colombo, which hurts their WTC Final hopes
Despite the series win, India fans have been left frustrated given the WTC standings.
“I don’t know how we gonna win against Australia in home BGT, if we can’t even get 20 wickets of Sri Lanka-C team,” wrote one fan.
“What began as a joke is a full-blown headache now. They were too casual to begin with, thinking they will win the Test just by turning up at the ground,” wrote another.
Here are some of the reactions.
