SL vs IND

That is that from Galle then, India take a 1-0 lead for India and 12 crucial WTC points from here to Colombo where the second Test will commence after a three day gap on Sunday (23rd August). It was a pleasure bringing you all the action and we will do the same in the second game too, for now though this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Pradeep, Bidipto and the rest of the team. Plenty of action lined up for you as always here at SK, see you soon!

Pawan: "Any improvement in wtc table?"
You can find your answer below, India remain on 5th but there is a significant improvement in the percentage

Shubman Gill (India captain): Very satisfying win for us. We were in a comfotable position but were not sure because of the weather, the team was put under pressure and the team responded really well. (is the batting in the second innings a concern?) Honestly not really, we wanted to get (a lead of) around 400 runs in the third innings. The wicket was not easy to bat on, we were not sure how many overs we would get to bowl that is why we looked to bat a bit aggressively. We lost a few early wickets but we were in comfortable position. (talking about Suthar) He has been doing really well, even in the game that he played in India. Looks like someone who will play for a long time for India. (on Padikkal) He was magnificent to watch. After getting a hundred, he still carried on and that is the difference between playing in a competitive match and being comfortable. (Are WTC points in your mind?) That is the ultimate goal while we are playing. Test wins don't come easy, this one is very delightful

Devdutt Padikkal is the Player of the Match for his 167 & 44 across both the innings: Started in Dharamsala, a test in Perth then and now Galle. Couldn't have asked for anything better, we played really well. (thoughts on the wicket) The wicket had natural wear and tear but it was a really good 5-day wicket, in the end the team that played better cricket overall came out on top. (dominance of the left-handed batters in the match) The left-arm spinners bowling contributed to that, it was a slowish wicket and the left-handers were able to adjust to that and counter the left-arm spinners

Dhananjaya de Silva (Sri Lanka captain): [On the overall contest] “From the second day onwards, I thought we were in the game. We fought hard, even in the fourth innings. It’s not easy, but I thought it was a good game.”

[On the pitch] “It was good to bat on for the first three days. Obviously, the fourth innings wasn’t going to be easy, but I thought the starts that Rahul and Padikkal got, they made them count and put the pressure on us from there.”

[On the toss] “Maybe, because they won the toss and got runs on the board. When we batted, we lost an early wicket and were under pressure from there.”

KL Rahul [India]: [On the emotions after the win] “Honestly, I’m just relieved. We kept looking at the clouds because we knew there was one big shower coming, so we didn’t want to delay the game. We were trying to get the wickets as quickly as we could. They had a decent partnership, but once we broke that, we felt we were right back in the game. Once we got into their tail, we knew we could get the wickets. But yeah, we definitely had one eye on the clouds.”

[On the nature of the Test match] “It wasn’t as easy as people might think, even on the final day. I thought it was a great Test match, and the wicket played really well throughout the five days. There was something in it for the spinners, but batters who applied themselves could also score runs. We saw that from Sonal, who got 180 in both innings and batted beautifully. He had a very clear game plan against the spinners, using the sweep and his feet. I think if you really committed to your game plan, you could score runs. That’s what you want to see in Test matches, where fast bowlers and spinners have something in the wicket.”

[On breaking partnerships] “Obviously, we knew the new ball was going to come, and if we couldn’t get wickets, that would be our next best chance. But throughout the day, our mindset was to keep putting the ball in the right areas. We knew the wicket was offering a little bit. The opposition can play well and batters can put together partnerships, so we just had to be patient and keep bowling in the right areas. Once we got a wicket and broke a partnership, we knew we could get two or three wickets together.”

[On why only a few batters made big scores] “I think it was a really good Test match wicket to play on. Batters who really committed to their plans, or had a clear plan for how they were going to face spin or fast bowling, stood a chance. If someone walked in thinking, ‘I’ll see what to do once I get there,’ they struggled because there was a little bit of help straight away. The batters who got out in the first 15-20 balls showed that. If you could get through 20-25 balls and commit to a plan, then you were okay.”

1:20 PM local time and IST: MATCH SUMMARY

India (462 & 193) beat Sri Lanka (284 & 206) by 165 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series

Devdutt Padikkal 167(230) & 44(75) | Manav Suthar 4/76 & 6/55
Sonal Dinusha 100(168) & 84(128) | Prabath Jayasuriya 4/109 & 3/43

That ended pretty quickly, isn't it? Just minutes ago we were thinking about the second new ball but it has not even gone that far as Sri Lanka have been bowled out in the 78th over. The last 4 wickets fell in a space of only 16 balls, after a gritty partnership between Dinusha and debutant Nuwantha

In the end, India get valuable 12 WTC points and they keep themselves alive in the race for the finals even though it is still far, far away. Manav Suthar ends with a 10-wicket haul in just his second Test match, he just ran through the tail there and was indeed the best bowler across both teams all Test long

The match though was set up by Devdutt Padikkal's sensational 167 in the first innings, he grabbed the opportunity at number 3 with both hands. Gill won a crucial toss on Day 1, it was important for India to get a big score on the board in the all-important first innings on a pitch which was starting to grip from as early as the second or third session on the first day

KL Rahul's 82 in the first innings, Jurel's fifty were other notable contributions, India would have wanted more but Sri Lanka did really well to keep the score down to 462. India did not have the best of second innings with the bat, they were trying to be aggressive but were bowled out for under 200. In that though, Pant's typical counterattacking 66 was the standout along with contributions from Padikkal and Rahul again

Sri Lanka were guilty of throwing too many top order wickets in both the innings, 90/5 in the first innings and 47/4 in the second. They would be unhappy with their main batters, specially their top-4 who barely contributed throughout the Test match. But, but, the man who took centerstage for the hosts was 25-year old Sonal Dinusha who was just playing his 4th Test

A rearguard century in the first innings frustrating India with Dickwella stiching 146 runs together for the 6th wicket and once again in the second esaay continuing to be the thorn in the flesh, missed out on a century the second time around but he notched up 184 runs in the game and certainly was the biggest positive for Sri Lanka.

However, his wicket after lunch was the final nail in the coffin for Sri Lanka and they came down like a pack of cards post that as India ran through the rest of the batters and completed a magnificent 165-run victory taking a crucial 1-0 lead

Important to mention the pacers too, Siraj opened the wickets tally for India in both the innings by dismissing Madushka. Prasidh ran in tirelessly too whenever needed, he got the all-important wicket of Dickwella in the first innings breaking the mammoth partnership and then got him again second time too grabbing a total of 3 wickets in the match. Their Sri Lankan counterparts, particularly Asitha Fernando was brilliant with 6 wickets in the game. There was the debutant Keshara Nuwantha, who had a poor day 1 bowling his off spin, but then he looked like a different bowler post that bowling with a lot more consistency and ending up with 4 wickets in total and on the other hand there was of course Prabath Jayasuriya in Galle who picked 7 wickets across both the innings despite not being at his best

77.4 Manav Suthar to Keshara Nuwantha, OUT! CLEANED HIM UP! SIX FOR SUTHAR AND INDIA TAKE 1-0 LEAD IN THE SERIES! India seal a commanding win in Galle! A clinical performance from start to finish as they wrap up the Test in style. It was another arm ball from Suthar, Nuwantha went back to defend and misses, through and he hears the death rattle.

77.3 Manav Suthar to Keshara Nuwantha, flighted on a length on the off-stump, Nuwantha leans and stroked it past extra-cover and they hare back for the brace.

77.2 Manav Suthar to Keshara Nuwantha, FOUR! Good length on the middle and leg. Nuwantha paddle sweeps it down to fine-leg, that runs away to the ropes.

For so long it looked like nothing was happening when Dinusha was at the crease and now it is seeming like a wicket will fall every ball. Amazing how one wicket can turn it around completely. By the way, Sri Lanka have got to the 200 run mark in the fourth innings which India did not manage in the third innings