by Champika Fernando
Sri Lanka’s wheels fell off after the Test against India here in Galle yesterday — well and truly exposing their limitations in all departments of the game.
Chasing a huge 550 runs to win, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 245, with India recording a comprehensive 304-run win to climb one up in the three-match series.
For a team that had beaten the tourists at the same venue in 2015, yesterday’s loss was an embarrassment for the Sri Lankans. It wasn’t that Sri Lanka were expected to defeat the world’s top-ranked team after having scraped through against the bottom-ranked Zimbabweans a fortnight ago. But the manner in which they conducted the game caused many raised eyebrows.
From Shikar Dhawan’s swashbuckling first innings century–which led India to a mammoth score of 600–to Virat Kohli’s unbeaten hundred in the second innings that helped set a target of 550, the visitors were flawless in their operation. Barring fighting Nuwan Pradeep, they made easy meat of the hapless Sri Lankan bowlers.
The pitch seemed as flat as the Southern Expressway. It assisted neither seamers nor spinners. The Sri Lankan batsmen only had to play with composure. Instead, they fell like bowling pins, exposing a dire lack of confidence and poise.
“We only have ourselves to blame for this defeat”, skipper Rangana Herath said after the match. “It was a disappointing end. But all credit to India. Their plans worked well.
“We should have played much better than we did. We did not bowl well as a unit and our batters did not apply themselves enough after being among the runs. We were not at our best although we had the potential to do better.”
India, who resumed their innings on 189 for three, added further 51 runs within the first half-hour before declaring their innings on 240 for three after Indian skipper Kohli smashed his 17th Test hundred.
Kohli had resumed the day on 76 and remained unbeaten on 103 after reaching the three-figure mark with a single off-spinner, Dilruwan Perera. The century ended a poor run in tests for Kohli, who had totalled a meagre 49 runs in his last six innings.
With a mountain to climb and two batsmen short, the hosts needed a miraculous effort to win or save the test. What they produced was another lackluster batting display to help India’s success. This was their third Test win against Sri Lanka, having bounced back to clinch the subsequent two Tests after the 2015 Galle loss.
Sri Lanka had their share of misfortune. They lost skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who was ruled out with pneumonia. Then, all-rounder Asela Gunaratne returned to Colombo with a broken finger even before the end of first day’s play. On day three, stand-in-skipper Rangana Herath suffered a blow to his thumb and did not take the field the next day. Sri Lanka battled with only eight batsmen.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne (97) and Niroshan Dickwella added 101 runs for fifth wicket, the best partnership of Sri Lanka’s innings– the only silver lining in an otherwise disastrous show of batting. But when Dickwella was caught behind off Ravichandran Ashwin for 67 while attempting to sweep, the writing was on the wall for the Sri Lankans. They lost two wickets apiece on either side of lunch break and gave up the remaining four wickets after tea to end a miserable campaign. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja finished with three wickets each to wrap things up for the tourists.
“There are still some areas that we want to look back and try to improve upon; especially when you get four-five wickets and not letting the lower order to get away with the few runs in the latter half of the innings. It’s something that we can still identify and work on in the next two games as well,” Indian skipper Kohli said at the end of the match.
“But all in all, I think, playing Test cricket – February is the last when we last played Test cricket – and from then having played so much one-day cricket and not having the time to prepare so much in between… I think from that point of view it was good to get back into the groove and do things that are supposed to be done to win a Test match. From that point of view, I feel we had a pretty good game.
The second test will be played from Thursday in Colombo.
India 1st innings 600 (S. Dhawan 190, C. Pujara 153, A. Rahane 57, H. Pandya 50; N. Pradeep 6-132)
Sri Lanka 1st innings 291 (D. Perera 92no, A. Mathews 83, U. Tharanga 64)
India 2nd innings (Overnight: 189-3)
S. Dhawan c Gunathilaka b D. Perera 14
A. Mukund lbw b Gunathilaka 81
C. Pujara c K. Mendis b Kumara 15
V. Kohli not out 103
A. Rahane not out 23
Extras (lb-1 nb-1 w-2) 4
Total (for 3 wickets declared, 53 overs) 240
Fall of wickets: 1-19 S. Dhawan,2-56 C. Pujara,3-189 A. Mukund
Did not bat: H. Pandya, W. Saha, M. Shami, U. Yadav, R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin
Bowling
Nuwan Pradeep 12 - 2 - 63 - 0(nb-1)
Dilruwan Perera 15 - 0 - 67 - 1
Lahiru Kumara 12 - 1 - 59 - 1(w-2)
Rangana Herath 9 - 0 - 34 - 0
Danushka Gunathilaka 5 - 0 - 16 - 1
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Target: 550 runs)
Dimuth Karunaratne b R. Ashwin 97
Upul Tharanga b Shami 10
Danushka Gunathilaka c Pujara b U. Yadav 2
Kusal Mendis c Saha b Jadeja 36
Angelo Mathews c H. Pandya b Jadeja 2
Niroshan Dickwella c Saha b R. Ashwin 67
Dilruwan Perera not out 21
Nuwan Pradeep c Kohli b R. Ashwin 0
Lahiru Kumara c Shami b Jadeja 0
Rangana Herath retired hurt 0
Asela Gunaratne retired hurt 0
Extras (lb-3 w-7) 10
Total (all out, 76.5 overs) 245
Fall of wickets: 1-22 U. Tharanga,2-29 D. Gunathilaka,3-108 K. Mendis,4-116 A. Mathews,5-217 N. Dickwella,6-240 D. Karunaratne,7-240 N. Pradeep,8-245 L. Kumara
To bat:
Bowling
M. Shami 9 - 0 - 43 - 1(w-5)
U. Yadav 9 - 0 - 42 - 1
R. Jadeja 24.5 - 4 - 71 - 3
R. Ashwin 27 - 4 - 65 - 3
H. Pandya 7 - 0 - 21 - 0(w-2)
Referees
Umpire: Richard Illingworth
Umpire: Bruce Oxenford
TV umpire: Rod Tucker
Match referee: Richie Richardson
Result: India won by 304 runs
DAY 4 LUNCH REPORT
India's pacemen made early inroads into Sri Lanka's second innings on the fourth morning of the first test on Saturday after setting the hosts a mammoth target of 550 runs to win.
Sri Lanka, already a batsman short after Asela Gunaratne fractured his thumb and was ruled out of the series, reached 85 for two at lunch, facing an uphill task to avoid going 1-0 down in the three-match series.
Opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne was unbeaten on 44 with Kusal Mendis 24 not out at the break.
India, the world's top-ranked test side, declared their second innings closed on 240 for three after captain Virat Kohli completed his 17th test hundred.
The right-handed batsman, who resumed the day on 76, remained unbeaten on 103 after reaching the three-figure mark with a single off spinner Dilruwan Perera.
The century ended a poor run in tests for Kohli, who hit five boundaries and one six in his 136-ball knock, with the 28-year-old totalling a meagre 49 runs in his last six innings.
Burdened with an improbable target, Sri Lanka needed a solid opening stand but their hopes were pegged back when Mohammed Shami castled Upul Tharanga for 10, after the batsman was dropped by Kohli at second slip in the same over.
Debutant Danushka Gunathilaka did not last long either and was out for two, hitting Umesh Yadav straight into the hands of Cheteshwar Pujara at square leg.
Sri Lanka were reduced to 29-2 at that stage and needed a solid 56-run unbroken stand between Karunaratne and Mendis to deny India any further success in the opening session.
India 1st innings 600 (S. Dhawan 190, C. Pujara 153, A. Rahane 57, H. Pandya 50; N. Pradeep 6-132)
Sri Lanka 1st innings 291 (D. Perera 92no, A. Mathews 83, U. Tharanga 64)
India 2nd innings (Overnight: 189-3)
S. Dhawan c Gunathilaka b D. Perera 14
A. Mukund lbw b Gunathilaka 81
C. Pujara c K. Mendis b Kumara 15
V. Kohli not out 103
A. Rahane not out 23
Extras (lb-1 nb-1 w-2) 4
Total (for 3 wickets declared, 53 overs) 240
Fall of wickets: 1-19 S. Dhawan,2-56 C. Pujara,3-189 A. Mukund
Did not bat: H. Pandya, W. Saha, M. Shami, U. Yadav, R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin
Bowling
Nuwan Pradeep 12 - 2 - 63 - 0(nb-1)
Dilruwan Perera 15 - 0 - 67 - 1
Lahiru Kumara 12 - 1 - 59 - 1(w-2)
Rangana Herath 9 - 0 - 34 - 0
Danushka Gunathilaka 5 - 0 - 16 - 1
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Target: 550 runs)
Dimuth Karunaratne not out 44
Upul Tharanga b Shami 10
Danushka Gunathilaka c Pujara b U. Yadav 2
Kusal Mendis not out 24
Extras (w-5) 5
Total (for 2 wickets, 23 overs) 85
Fall of wickets: 1-22 U. Tharanga,2-29 D. Gunathilaka
To bat: A. Mathews, A. Gunaratne, N. Dickwella, D. Perera, R. Herath, N. Pradeep, L. Kumara
Bowling
M. Shami 6 - 0 - 32 - 1(w-5)
U. Yadav 7 - 0 - 26 - 1
R. Jadeja 6 - 0 - 19 - 0
R. Ashwin 4 - 0 - 8 - 0
DAY 3 REPORT
A dominant India spared Sri Lanka the ignominy of a follow-on but Virat Kohli and Abhinav Mukund struck fluent half-centuries to tighten the touring side's grip on the first test on Friday.
The world's top-ranked test team shot out their depleted hosts for 291 to take a 309-run first innings lead and were 189-3 after third day's play at the Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka, already a batsman short after Asela Gunaratne fractured his thumb, received a new setback when Rangana Herath, leading the side in absence of ailing regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal, left the field with a hand injury.
India captain Kohli was unbeaten on 76 at stumps, after adding 133 runs with Mukund whose dismissal for 81 signalled the end of the day's play.
Earlier, Sri Lanka resumed on 154-5 and could have been in bigger trouble but for Dilruwan Perera's gutsy 92 not out.
Angelo Mathews held the key to Sri Lanka's survival and the former captain made 83 before Ravindra Jadeja (3-67) sent him back.
The spinner sent down a flighted delivery and Mathews moved towards leg and slapped it straight to Kohli at short cover. Mathews hit 11 boundaries and a six.
Perera enjoyed an eventful stay at the crease.
Two balls after an appeal for a catch off his boot was turned down, Perera was adjudged lbw to Jadeja. The decision was overturned after replays suggested the ball would have sailed over the stumps.
Perera hit Ravichandran Ashwin for a six and took a single off the next ball to bring up his fifth test fifty.
Jadeja dismissed Herath for nine and debutant Hardik Pandya castled Nuwan Pradeep for 10 to claim his first test wicket.
Perera was eight runs away from his maiden test century when he ran out of partners. His belligerent knock included 10 fours and four sixes.
Perera then returned to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan for 14 after India opted against enforcing the follow-on and Lahiru Kumara sent back Cheteshwar Pujara for 15.
Kohli and Mukund shared a century-plus partnership for the third wicket as India moved 498 runs ahead and in a commanding position to take a 1-0 lead in the three-test series.
ndia 1st innings 600 (S. Dhawan 190, C. Pujara 153, A. Rahane 57, H. Pandya 50; N. Pradeep 6-132)
Sri Lanka 1st innings (Overnight: 154-5)
Dimuth Karunaratne lbw b U. Yadav 2
Upul Tharanga run out (Mukund, Saha) 64
Danushka Gunathilaka c S. Dhawan b Shami 16
Kusal Mendis c S. Dhawan b Shami 0
Angelo Mathews c Kohli b Jadeja 83
Niroshan Dickwella c Mukund b R. Ashwin 8
Dilruwan Perera not out 92
Rangana Herath c Rahane b Jadeja 9
Nuwan Pradeep b H. Pandya 10
Lahiru Kumara b Jadeja 2
Asela Gunaratne retired hurt 0
Extras (lb-4 w-1) 5
Total (all out, 78.3 overs) 291
Fall of wickets: 1-7 D. Karunaratne,2-68 D. Gunathilaka,3-68 K. Mendis,4-125 U. Tharanga,5-143 N. Dickwella,6-205 A. Mathews,7-241 R. Herath,8-280 N. Pradeep,9-291 L. Kumara
Bowling
M. Shami 12 - 2 - 45 - 2(w-1)
U. Yadav 14 - 1 - 78 - 1
R. Ashwin 27 - 5 - 84 - 1
R. Jadeja 22.3 - 3 - 67 - 3
H. Pandya 3 - 0 - 13 - 1
India 2nd innings
S. Dhawan c Gunathilaka b D. Perera 14
A. Mukund lbw b Gunathilaka 81
C. Pujara c K. Mendis b Kumara 15
V. Kohli not out 76
Extras (lb-1 w-2) 3
Total (for 3 wickets, 46.3 overs) 189
Fall of wickets: 1-19 S. Dhawan,2-56 C. Pujara,3-189 A. Mukund
To bat: A. Rahane, H. Pandya, W. Saha, R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, U. Yadav, M. Shami
Bowling
Nuwan Pradeep 10 - 2 - 44 - 0
Dilruwan Perera 12 - 0 - 42 - 1
Lahiru Kumara 11 - 1 - 53 - 1(w-2)
Rangana Herath 9 - 0 - 34 - 0
Danushka Gunathilaka 4.3 - 0 - 15 - 1
DAY TWO REPORT: Sri Lanka collapse after India hit 600
India amassed 600 in their first innings and returned to blow away the top half of the Sri Lankan batting order to tighten their grip on the first test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Sri Lanka were reeling on 154 for five at stumps on day two, still 446 behind and facing the unenviable task of saving the match with 10 batsmen following Asela Gunaratne's series-ending thumb injury.
Angelo Mathews, who relinquished the captaincy this month, was unbeaten on 54 at the close with Dilruwan Perera on six.
Earlier, India lost four wickets in the morning session but their tail wagged as they added 201 runs to their overnight score of 399-3 before being all out less than an hour before the tea break.
Nuwan Pradeep was rewarded for his lion-hearted bowling effort with career-best figure of six for 132.
Resuming on 144, Cheteshwar Pujara brought up his sixth score of more than 150 before Pradeep dismissed him with a good length ball that bounced and seamed away.
Pujara batted nearly six-and-half-hours for his 153, adding 137 runs with Ajinkya Rahane who made 57.
India's lower order then decided to flex their muscles.
Ravichandran Ashwin smashed seven boundaries in his 47, Mohammed Shami clobbered three sixes in his run-a-ball 30 and all-rounder Hardik Pandya scored 50 off 49 balls on his test debut to help India reach the 600-mark.
Sri Lanka made a feeble reply.
Umesh Yadav dismissed opener Dimuth Karunaratne for two with a fuller delivery and the batsman challenged the leg-before decision but could not overturn it.
Shami dealt a double blow in his fifth over, getting both Danushka Gunathilaka, who made 16, and the scoreless Kusal Mendis caught by Shikhar Dhawan in the slips.
The hosts were reeling at 68-3 when Upul Tharanga and Mathews added 57 runs to arrest the slide.
Tharanga made 64 before falling to a bizarre run out, diving back to the crease and his bat bouncing up in the air.
Abhinav Mukund took a stunning one-handed catch at silly point to send back Niroshan Dickwella, who managed eight, off Ashwin's bowling.
Day 1 report: Dhawan, Pujara hit centuries to put India in command
India opener Shikhar Dhawan smashed a career-best 190 on his test return and combined with Cheteshwar Pujara to lay the foundation for a big first innings total on the opening day of the first test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
The duo added 253 runs for the second wicket to help India overcome the early loss of opener Abhinav Mukund and reach 282 for two at the tea break, scoring at a brisk rate of over five runs an over.
Dhawan, dropped on 31 by Asela Gunaratne at slip, hit 31 boundaries in his 168-ball blitz before throwing his wicket away in the final over before the tea break.
Pujara was batting on 75 with skipper Virat Kohli on one after a free-scoring second session in which the tourists went nearly run-a-ball.
Compounding Sri Lanka's problems, middle-order batsman Gunaratne fractured his thumb which ruled him out for the rest of the series.
With regular openers Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul indisposed, Dhawan and Mukund opened the innings after Kohli won the toss and opted to bat in the first match of the three-test series.
Mukund made 12 before edging an angling delivery from Nuwan Pradeep into wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella's safe gloves.
Dhawan hit Lahiru Kumara for two boundaries in three balls and was lucky not to fall in the same over when he slashed hard at the final delivery and Gunaratne spilled the catch at second slip.
Dhawan swept spinner Dilruwan Perera for a boundary to bring up his fifth test century off just 110 balls at the same venue where he scored his fourth in 2015.
Pujara needed 80 balls to bring up his fifty with a cover driven four off Kumara as runs kept flowing in the post-lunch session.
Dhawan swept the spinners with contempt and became one of the handful batsmen to score 100 runs in one session.
The left-hander was cruising to his maiden double century when he charged out to Pradeep, only to hit the ball straight to Angelo Mathews at mid-off.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya made his test debut in the match as did Sri Lanka's Danushka Gunathilaka.
Veteran spinner Rangana Herath is leading the home side in the absence of their ailing regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal.India 1st innings
Tough series awaits Sri Lanka - Jaysuriya
By Champika Fernando
After narrowly escaping defeat against minnows Zimbabwe in the one-off Test last week, Sri Lanka will face a real Test when they take on India in a three-match Test series followed by a limited-over series—five ODIs and a one-off T20.
The victory against Zimbabwe last week may have pumped up the Sri Lankan side’s morale but their struggle towards a record run-chase proved that the road was bumpy for a team that has lately been consistently inconsistent in bowling, batting and fielding.
“It’s going to be a very tough series,” admitted Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya. “We need to work hard in all three departments to beat India, a team that plays top class cricket at present.”
Sri Lanka were on the brink of defeat before half-centuries by Niroshan Dickwella (81) and Asela Gunaratne (80 not out) helped the team win by four wickets against Zimbabwe.
Impressed by the record breaking run-chase—the highest successful chase in Asia—Jayasuriya said he’s confident his charges will challenge the Indians even though the quality of the opposition was far higher.
“If they (Sri Lanka) can chase down 388 and win against a quality attack, I think they are capable of beating any side,” Jayasuriya said.
The victory was like manna from heaven to the “wounded” Sri Lankans whose inconsistent performances have resulted in more defeats than wins in recent months, in stark contrast to their neighbour.
Virat Kohli on Galle Pitch
Whatever we saw of it yesterday, I am sure today it would have been rolled in very nicely as well. And underneath the surface it looks very hard, there is grass covering on it to keep the surface bound up, it should be a very good batting track. 
Rangana Herath on Galle Pitch
This looks a good pitch. If someone bowls in good areas, there will be good results. I cannot say whether it’s going to be turn or not. But I can say, on the 4th & 5th days, there will be some assistance for the spinners.
Apart from last week’s victory against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka’s recent record has been mediocre. During the last 24 months, Sri Lanka played 24 Test matches, losing 12, winning 11 and drawing one. India, during the same period, recorded 17 wins in a similar number of matches. They have two losses (one each against Sri Lanka and Australia) with the rest being draws.
“Indians are the number one ranked team for the right reasons,” said Jayasuriya who, twenty years ago, scored Sri Lanka’s first ever triple-century with 340 against the Indians. “They have a very strong batting and a bowling unit. They are also brilliant in their fielding. So we need to pull our socks up in all three departments to challenge them. But I am confident that, if they can play the fearless brand of cricket they usually play, we are in for a very exciting series.”
Malinda Pushpakumara with over 550 first class wickets has been knocking the door
Adding salt to the wound, Sri Lanka’s new Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal will not take the field when the first game begins in Galle on Wednesday as he is being treated for pneumonia. In his absence, spinner Rangana Herath will lead the side, his third outing as skipper, having shouldered the responsibility against Zimbabwe last year and Bangladesh this March.
“It’s a big loss for us but that’s something unavoidable,” Jayasuriya added. “Now it is Rangana’s turn to step up and lead the side from the front.”
Sri Lanka’s recent capitulation was so bad that some critics have completely written off the national team after they conceded the second and final Test match to Bangladesh. Even the Test match win against Zimbabwe did not come that easy for the Lankans.
Kohli on Herath
He’s a quality bowler. Last time he really dented us in that small chase. It’s something that actually was a great eye opener for us. We worked on those things in the next two games and we were able to win the series. He played both the games and the ball was still doing a bit. I think our batsmen came up with the goods and they had the counter plans in place. So we understand what he brings to the table and understand what needs to be done. I’m sure everyone is taking personal responsibilities to plan their innings in a certain way and play bowlers according to how they bowl and what areas they hit and the shots that are required to counter that. We’ve come a long way from that tour, as I said, and we believe in our batsmen to deliver the goods when it’s required by the team the most.
Herath needs to lead from the front
While the team’s batting has shown a glimpse of improvement, their bowling has been far from impressive. What would Sri Lanka’s predicament be when spinner Rangana Herath retires? At 39, he is Sri Lanka’s only match winner but Jayasuriya said they have earmarked a replacement.
“He is our top spinner and the go-to man in crisis situations,” he admitted. “We all know he is nearing the end of his career but we are watching him closely and looking after him carefully. We also have a left-arm spinner in Malinda Pushpakumara knocking the door,” he said. Pushpakumara was part of the Sri Lankan squad for Bangladesh and has also been named in the mix against India.
India is on a steady rise. They made a stunning comeback in the series in Sri Lanka in 2015. After losing the first Test in Galle by 63 runs, they clinched the next two Tests to clinch the series 2-1. In Colombo, Kohli said that series was the start of a winning streak. They secured seven series victories in a row within the last two years and became the number 1 ranked team in the world.
“I think this particular series in Sri Lanka gave us belief, coming back from 0-1 down in the series,” Kohli said, speaking to local press in Colombo. “After losing that Test in Galle which was quite a dent for us mentally, the way the team came together was iconic as far as where we have come in the last two years is concerned.”
Kohli said that they would not take any team lightly, particularly the Sri Lankans who have been a formidable outfit at home.
“We definitely never take any game lightly,” he reiterated. “We never take any opposition lightly. We give equal respect to any opposition because you can be a strong or a weak side but this game is the same game, everyone plays the same game, you play with a bat and a ball. It is nobody’s game for the taking before it starts. You have to earn your victories and it’s something we respect as a team. I do feel that, if we want to win series in any country in the world, we have to play good cricket and we have to work for it, which we are ready to do.”
Chaminda Vaas mentoring the fast bowlers for the series
Team News
Danushka Gunathilaka and Hardik Pandya could be in line to make their Test debut when the first Test between Sri Lanka and India starts in Galle on Wednesday. Gunathilaka has been in great form for Sri Lanka during the ODI series against Zimbabwe. He also scored 74 for Board President’s XI and with Chandimal out with pneumonia, he is likely to fill the important number 4 position.
Pandya has been a regular feature in the limited-over side and even though he was in the squad for the series against England and Australia at home, he failed to get a game due to injury. But on Tuesday Indian skipper said that the 23-year-old allrounder has a great chance of playing
."We've got a guy like Hardik Pandya who is a wicket-taking bowler. Every game that he plays, on any surface, he has a knack of picking wickets. He has a great chance of playing as well. That gives us balance,"Kohli said during the pre-match press conference.
India
Virat Kohli(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund
Sri Lanka
Rangana Herath(c), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep
