Galle Test: India register massive 304-run win over Sri Lanka
Ravindra Jadeja (left) celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews with skipper Virat Kohli in Galle on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The end, when it came, was rather tame. Sri Lanka, two batsmen short through injuries to Asela Gunaratne and Rangana Herath, mustered only 76.5 overs of resistance, scoring 245 runs and slump to a thumping 304-run defeat.
For India, it was a matter of ticking the right boxes and they did so in some style. Batting just long enough for Virat Kohli to complete his 17th Test hundred, India declared with 240 on the board, setting Sri Lanka a notional target of 550. There was, of course, little chance that they would come close, and when Mohammed Shami provided the early breakthroughs, it became clear that the scheduled fifth day could be spent on the beach.
Dimuth Karunaratne, the opening batsman, held up one end, unlucky to miss out on a century when he dragged a ball from R Ashwin back onto his stumps on 97, but there was little or no support for him.
Jadeja, Ashwin on song
Although the pitch did not deteriorate significantly, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin were skilful enough to pick up three wickets each. Kohli, understandably, was happy with the hard work his team put in to close out the Test. "Yes, the last time when we played here the surface offered much more to the bowlers. It kept the bowlers in the game throughout, the quicks and the spinners more so. This time around the wicket was really good to bat on even till today. I mean if you applied yourself, you could easily score runs on that surface," said Kohli. India had lost the first Test against Sri Lanka here by 63 runs in 2015.
While it was a touch early to look forward to the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, the fact that Shikhar Dhawan (190) and Abhinav Mukund (81) both fired when they came back into the team left the captain with a difficult choice, now that KL Rahul was fit again.
Selection headache
"Yes, it's a very tricky situation. We've got a fourth guy who's a regular opener for India who's not fit [M Vijay]. We've got all four openers firing now. Shikhar was supposed to go to Melbourne, now he's got a 190 in Galle. So, anything can happen in life. Let's see how we decide on these things in the next three days.
It's going to be tough but it's something that any day you'd like to be in this situation rather than having guys that are not scoring. I'm happy for both these guys who've done well. KL is obviously a champion player as well, so we'll have to eventually take a call on who plays in the next Test and I'm sure the third guy will understand whatever the call is taken by the team," added the skipper.
When it was put to Kohli that the win might settle some of the talk and comment around the change of coach that was part of the lead up to this Test, the captain played with a straight bat.
"I think it's another Test match for us. The nerves being built up or the panic being created was all on the outside. Inside the change room, the atmosphere is absolutely same. We've just done what we've done in the past two years on a consistent basis. And we've just gone out there and focused on the game and that's all you think of doing and that's all that we're going to do in the future," said Kohli as a matter of fact.
Only four days of cricket have been played on this tour, and already the gulf between the two teams looks as wide as the Palk Strait that separates the two countries. If Sri Lanka cannot lift themselves up in dramatic fashion, it could be India all the way.
304
India's win over SL on Saturday is their largest in terms of runs in away Tests, eclipsing the 279-run victory v England at Leeds in 1986
Tweet talk
Sachin Tendulkar @sachin_rt: A massive victory to begin the tour. Great work #TeamIndia! Exceptional performance by @SDhawan25, @cheteshwar1 and @imVkohli!
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