All India needed was six days, that too not entirely, to complete a 2-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka, who, to be fair, did not have the arsenal to stand up to the home team’s superiority in the longest format of the game.
With the 238-run win in Bangalore on Monday, India ended their domestic international campaign this season emphatically, though the quality of the opposition meant many of those duels were one-sided affairs. Post the debacle in the T20 World Cup, India have successfully bulldozed challenges from New Zealand, the West Indies and Sri Lanka across formats to emerge triumphant in their home assignments. The balance sheet though would have looked better had the team not slipped on their tour of South Africa.
But then, a win is a win. And so India deserve credit for putting up an absolutely authoritative display against the Lankans. Rohit Sharma too would get a pat on the back for marshalling his resources with precision in what was his first series win as India’s full-time Test captain.
The series result gave India 24 points but they remain fifth on the World Test Championship table owing to low percentage points (54.16).
Rohit sounded happy at the presentation ceremony, counting the positives as Rishabh Pant collected the Man of the Series award and Shreyas Iyer was adjudged the Man of the Match. Both stood out with their fine batting display in the series. Pant showed little respect for the Lankan bowlers, butchering them while aggregating 185 runs from three innings at an average of 61.66 and an astounding strike rate of 120.12. Iyer, though more mature in his approach, was equally effective, totalling 186 runs from three innings at an average of 62.
This was India’s 15th consecutive Test series victory at home since losing the series to England in December 2012. No other side has won more than 10 consecutive home series. Australia won 10 home series in a row from 1994 to 2000 and again from 2004 to 2008.
The resistance
Sri Lanka, who had suffered an innings defeat in the first Test, saved their best for the last, their second innings total of 208 in Bangalore being their highest of the series. But then their best was neither enough nor timely to stop the Indian juggernaut.
Dimuth Karunaratne (107), who led the islanders in the series, offered some rare resistance on behalf of his team.
Beginning the day 419 runs away from an improbable target of 447 and with nine wickets at their disposal, Sri Lanka knew they were staring at a mountain and needed to climb it from its steepest side. The situation demanded a positive and confident approach on their part and Karunaratne, along with Kusal Mendis (54), the other overnight batsman, did well to trouble Rohit and his team for some time.
The duo chose to be proactive as they stepped out of their crease to negate the spin while facing Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. The ploy worked, with the first eight overs of the day producing 42 runs. But the 97-run second partnership was broken when an over-ambitious Mendis was stumped off Ashwin.
The collapse
While Karunaratne and Mendis’ resistance raised hopes of a Lankan fightback, the other batters in the line-up lacked the skill and temperament to thwart the Indian attack. From 97/2, Lanka were soon 105/4. Karunaratne then briefly found an ally in Niroshan Dickwella (12) as the two shared a 55-run partnership.
Once Karunaratne reached 90, he showed urgency in going for his 14th Test hundred. On 99, he flicked Jasprit Bumrah to backward square-leg for a four to reach the three-figure mark.
Bumrah then did a Bumrah. A full and fast delivery that moved slightly off the seam beat the left-handed batsman to crash on to the stumps. That was the seventh wicket to fall.
Karunaratne’s 174-ball vigil ended and with it ended Lanka’s hopes of a miracle. The rest was mere formality.
