INDIA TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2017
Karunaratne fights but India clinch innings victoryDimuth Karunaratne's valiant 141 went in vain © AFP
For 95.3 overs, Sri Lanka fought like their lives depended on it.
The ball spat, zooted, and played all kinds of tricks, taking part of the pitch with it every time and promising that things will only get harder. But Sri Lanka, led by Kusal Mendis yesterday and Dimuth Karunaratne on Day 4 held on. There were innumerable unplayable deliveries, but nothing broke the back of Sri Lanka's batting. That was until Ravindra Jadeja got Karunaratne, who had batted 337 minutes and 307 balls for 141 runs, out with a snorter. Sri Lanka's chances and hopes dissipated as quickly as their wickets fell from there on. Their marathon second innings eventually ended on 386, succumbing to an innings defeat and giving India a 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.
Ravindra Jadeja was India's star with the ball, taking five for 152, but he had to endure a long toil, bowling 39 overs for it. Hardik Pandya was a surprise package with two wickets, including the key wicket of Kusal Mendis on Day 3. For Sri Lanka, the knocks from Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis will come as a massive boost. The pair proved that with some application and luck, the hosts can put the Indians under pressure. They will hope that they can carry on from here and compete against India in the third Test in Pallekele.
Sri Lanka, with their performance on Day 3, dared to hope. They enjoyed a spell off sustained dominance, that was only slightly undone by the late wicket of Mendis. On Day 4, they had enough to hope - the had made the Indians toil, the pitch was still slow and the batsmen looked set - but the mountain of runs piled up before them always made that insignificant. India were still ahead by 239 runs at the start of the day, and they needed only a few good deliveries, or moments of luck, to complete what seemed a formality on the previous day.
That moment of luck came in the 13th over of the day. India could not dislodge Karunaratne or nightwatchman Malinda Pushpakumara for most part of the first hour. KL Rahul even dropped Karunaratne while on 95. The left-hander went on to bring up a deserving century, and set to punish India for their lapses. With Ashwin bowling, Pushpakumara inexplicably went for a switch hit and was castled. India had struck. Dinesh Chandimal edged Jadeja to first slip as the doors started to close in on the home side.
Angelo Mathews and Karunaratne revived the innings with a stand worth 69 in good time. The pair were able to keep India at bay with some sensible batting, as Sri Lanka's deficit came close to 100, and the chances of India batting again increased. At Lunch, Sri Lanka were just 137 behind with six wickets still in hand.
In the post-Lunch session, Jadeja came into his own. The left-armer had been unlucky not to have added more to his wickets tally, with plenty of plays and misses to go with half and dropped chances. He eventually got his reward when Karunaratne received an unplayable delivery, took the top of his handle and ended up in the hands of Ajinkya Rahane.
After that, Sri Lanka's innings toppled without a fight. Mathews edged a cut for Saha to take a sharp catch, while Dilruwan Perera, surprisingly sent ahead of Dhananjaya de Silva, was out stumped to give Jadeja his fourth wicket. Jadeja had his fifer when de Silva edged a sharp turner to first slip.
Niroshan Dickwella and Rangana Herath provided some late entertainment with quick blows, as Sri Lanka tried to get India to bat again. The pair added 43 runs, playing the spinners with abandon and using sweeps and reverse-sweeps galore. India rode out the period of frustration patiently, till Hardik Pandya broke the stand by getting Dickwella caught at gully for 31.
Nuwan Pradeep was the last man out, slogging Ashwin to mid-on, as India completed an innings and 53-run victory. They also took a 2-0 lead as a result and will head into the third Test hoping for a clean sweep.
Brief Scores: India 622/9 decl beat Sri Lanka 183 and 386 (Dimuth Karunaratne 141, Kusal Mendis 110; Ravindra Jadeja 5/152) by an innings and 53 runs
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