After crushing Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series by a margin of 3-0, Rohit and Co cruised to win the two-match Test series by 2-0. Like the West Indies and New Zealand, Sri Lanka also ends the India tour in 2022 without winning. Rohit bagged his first Test series win as a Test captain of the men in blue.
India gave a clinical performance in the Test series as Sri Lanka still needs to win a Test match on Indian soil. The home team won both the Test matches inside three days. The hosts won the Pink Ball Test match by another significant margin of 238 runs, and they also gained some crucial points in the WTC (World Test Championship) points table.
Kusal Mendis and Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne show a solid resistance against the Indian bowlers –
The visitors were 28/1 when the second day’s play was ended. It was an uphill task for Sri Lanka to score the remaining 419 runs, and India was the clear favorite to win the Pink Ball Test Match in just three days at Bengaluru.
The Sri Lankan overnight batsmen Kusal Mendis and Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne showed some solid resistance, which brought the pressure back on the home team for the first time in this Test series. Sri Lanka didn’t lose any wickets in the first half and hour, India leaked runs through some overthrows, and the fielders also dropped some catches.
Mendis and Karunaratne were positive in their intent, and they kept on playing all the shots in the books. They shared a 97 run stand, and Kusal Mendis got to his fifty. But he was out early after reaching his milestone, which allowed India to pave their way back in the Pink Ball Test Match.
The Indian Bowlers strike back hard despite Karunaratne’s brilliant Ton –
The first hour of the third day’s play went in Sri Lanka’s way as they didn’t lose any wickets and piled the pressure on the home team, India. But India fought back in the Pink Ball Test Match as Kusal Mendis was out to Ravichandran Ashwin for well-made 54 runs.
Then it was possession of wickets that fell for the visitors, and India kept on making enormous strides for this huge win. After Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja picked up his first wicket in this Pink Ball Test Match in the form of Angelo Matthews. The former skipper of the Sri Lankan side was clean bowled by Jaddu for just one run.
After these two vital wickets fell quickly, Sri Lanka reached the hundred mark. But the Indian spinners continued to outclass the poor middle order of Sri Lanka. The vice-captain of the Lankan team was out for only five runs as Ashwin continued his class.
Niroshan Dickwella supported his skipper, who was batting at the other end. But his innings was also cut short for just 12 runs, and the Indian bowlers made the job harder for Dimuth Karunaratne, who showed a remarkable resistance in the Pink Ball Test Match.
Dimuth Karunaratne’s 107 runs knock went in Vain –
The Sri Lankan skipper played a captain’s knock, and he was the only centurion in this Pink Ball test Match. Shreyas Iyer scored 92 and 67 runs in both innings. But none of the Indian batters slammed a ton in the Pink Ball Test match. Karunaratne played a gem of a knock today.
But it went in vain as the middle order, and the lower order didn’t contribute to Sri Lanka’s tough chances. Karunaratne scored 107 runs, and he was clean bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. Karunaratne took Sri Lanka past the two hundred run mark for the first time in this Test series because of his brilliant knock.
After his dismissal, the Indian bowlers folded the Sri Lankan innings for just 208 runs. Sri Lanka gave an improved performance in the 2nd innings. Still, they had mammoth runs to chase, and their batters needed to support their skipper, who batted beautifully at the other end.
India won the Pink Ball Test Match by 238 runs and clinched the two-match Test series by 2-0. The bowlers again gave outstanding performances as the home side won another Test match within three days.
Jasprit Bumrah bagged three wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin took four wickets, Axar Patel took two scalps, and Ravindra Jadeja had picked up one wicket to his name. Mohammad Shami didn’t take any wickets in the 2nd innings of this Pink Ball Test Match. Rishabh Pant was the Man of the Series while Shreyas Iyer won the Man of the Match award.
