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Cricket PlayersManav Suthar spins India to victory: 10 wickets help seal 165-run win over Sri Lanka in Galle
The timing could not have been more perfect either, as rain arrived in Galle within minutes of India's 165-run victory, just as forecast for Wednesday.
Manav Suthar saved his best for the final morning. After playing a key role in restricting Sri Lanka’s first innings with a four-wicket haul, the left-arm spinner returned to finish the job with a six-for, taking his match tally to 10 as India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in Galle to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It was India's first win in the red-ball format in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle since their series sweep against the West Indies at home last October.
India wrapped up the match a little over half an hour into the second session on Day 5, with Suthar taking four wickets in the space of 10 balls to bowl Sri Lanka out for 206.
With the win, India collected 12 crucial World Test Championship points, adding to the celebrations in the Indian dressing room. The timing could not have been more perfect either, as rain arrived in Galle within minutes of India's 165-run victory, just as forecast for Wednesday.
What happened on Day 5 in Galle?
Four down for 84, with 288 runs still required, Sri Lanka refused to throw in the towel on Day 5, with captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Sonal Dinusha holding firm and negating the early threat from the Indian attack for almost 90 minutes. Like India's batters, the Lankan pair preferred the sweep to tackle the spinners.
Putting up a tremendous fight on the fifth morning, both batters brought up their respective fifties and stitched together a 95-run stand off 202 deliveries to frustrate the visitors, before Ravindra Jadeja finally broke through.
Jadeja had earlier dismissed de Silva on Day 4, only for the delivery to be ruled a no-ball. The all-rounder made no mistake this time, getting the Sri Lanka skipper caught at short fine leg as he attempted another sweep.
Niroshan Dickwella then tried to unsettle the Indian bowlers, shuffling around the crease and exchanging a few words with Yashasvi Jaiswal, before edging Prasidh Krishna through to the wicketkeeper.
Dinusha, the only overnight batter still at the crease, waged a lone battle against the Indian spinners, adding 59 runs to his overnight score before Suthar finally broke through. Having batted almost flawlessly and fallen just 13 runs short of a second century in the match, Dinusha fell to a soft dismissal, casually looking to clip a flighted delivery spinning down the leg side, only to inside-edge it onto his pad, with the ball carrying to leg gully.
Suthar then struck again off the very next ball, trapping Prabath Jayasuriya to put India on the brink. Lahiru Kumara denied him a hat-trick, but Suthar completed the over in style, dismissing Kumara with the final delivery to claim his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
The left-armer returned an over later to dismiss Keshara Nuwantha, wrapping up the innings with figures of 6/55 and a match haul of 10/131 — his best in Test cricket.
On the bowling front, it was the left-arm spinners who controlled the game. Jadeja picked up three wickets in the first innings and another in the second, meaning the duo accounted for 14 of Sri Lanka’s 20 wickets in the match.
Due credit must also go to Devdutt Padikkal, who made the most of his audition for the No. 3 spot in the absence of the injured Sai Sudharsan, carving out a sensational maiden international century in the first innings. He was ably supported by KL Rahul’s 82 as the second-wicket pair stitched together a century stand, helping India post 462 after opting to bat first. Padikkal returned to add another 44 in the second innings on Day 4, while Rishabh Pant was the other standout batter, smashing a 69-ball 66 that helped India accelerate their scoring.
