September 11, 1985: Sri Lanka register maiden Test win, beat India in Colombo

Rumesh Ratnayake and Amal Silva were the stars for Sri Lanka as they defeated India by 149 runs. Ratnayake took nine wickets in the game while Silva scored a brilliant 111 in the first innings as the hosts scripted history.

Sri Lanka were off to a rather rocky start after getting Test status in 1982 and after their first 13 matches, they were still without a single win. They were able to draw five of those games but the first victory continued to elude them for more than three years. However, the jinx was finally broken on September 11, 1985 when they defeated India at Colombo to register their first-ever Test victory.

Rumesh Ratnayake took nine wickets in Sri Lanka’s maiden Test win (Getty Images)

Rumesh Ratnayake and Amal Silva were the stars for Sri Lanka as they defeated India by 149 runs. Ratnayake took nine wickets in the game while Silva scored a brilliant 111 in the first innings as the hosts scripted history. A draw in the next game in Kandy meant that the series was also won by Sri Lanka.

Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 385 thanks to wicket-keeper Amal Silva’s 111 while Roy Dias (95) and Ranjan Madugalle (54) provided perfect support. In response, Ratnayake took four wickets as India were dismissed for 244. K Srikanth top-scored with 64 and Sunil Gavaskar scored 52 at the No.6 position.

In the second innings, Sri Lanka were again quite comfortable against the Indian bowling attack and the hosts declared their innings at 206/3 with Aravinda De Silva scoring a gritty half century. Chasing 355, fast bowler Ratnayake was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts as India were bundled out for just 198.