Virat Kohli says Colombo pitch, big lead prompted him to enforce follow-on
Virat Kohli has said the tricky nature of Colombo wicket and a 439-run first innings lead prompted him to enforce follow-on against Sri Lanka. The visitors won the match by an innings and 53 runs to take an unbeatable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Ravindra Jadeja ended with five wickets in the second innings as India won the second Test by an innings and 53 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 in the three match series, in Colombo on Sunday. (SL vs IND HIGHLIGHTS)

It was an all-round display by Virat Kohli’s men who capitalised on their big lead to dictate the course of the game. If Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara had done the job with the bat, Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin ensured they executed their roles well; both picking up seven wickets each in the match. (SL vs IND SCORES)
“The way the wicket was getting worse by the day and the lead of more than 440 runs prompted us to enforce the follow-on. I haven’t been a big fan of follow ons, though. At international level, you expect teams to come out and play like that (on Kusal Mendis’ and Dimuth Karunaratne’s innings). They batted really well,” Kohli said at the end of the match.
(Read | Dimuth Karunaratne’s ton in vain as India crush Sri Lanka to seal series 2-0)
Both Kusal Mendis (110) and Dimuth Karunaratne (141) scored tons to help the hosts put up a modest fight but trailing by 439 runs, even they knew the going would only get tougher. India had a 309-run first-innings lead in the first Test as well but decided against enforcing the follow on and piled up another 240 runs before winning the Test by 304 runs.
The skipper also showered praise on wicketkeeper Wridhhiman Saha who had three scalps. On a pitch that provided a fair amount of turn to both Ashwin and Jadeja, Saha put up a terrific show behind the stumps.
“Just four byes on that sort of a pitch speaks of his (Saha’s) quality. He is definitely the best keeper in this format. How agile he is! He is very safe behind the stumps. Our batting was outstanding again. Pujara and Rahane — our two best Test batsmen — Rahul getting runs and Jadeja contributing down the order,” he added.