290/10 (89.4)
CR : 3.23
RR : 0.00
Match Drawn
Player of the Match
S Dinusha
0/8103(162) & 133(264)*
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
Dhananjaya de Silva (Sri Lanka Captain): "(Congrats. That was a great effort!) Thank you! Thank you very much.
(On the positives from the series and the youngsters like Sonal Dinusha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Keshara Nuwantha standing up) Yes, of course, it's all about finding the talent for the future of Sri Lankan cricket. I think the selectors and the coach gave me that opportunity to get the youngsters in and let them freely go and do their job for the country.
(On having experienced players return from injury) Yes, of course. That's a good headache. We have three guys who were playing continuously and now have to come back and knock the door again. So, I think, yeah, that's a good headache.
(On what he would have changed in hindsight to change the result of this series) Maybe in the second innings (in Galle), I would have batted a bit longer. Maybe, yeah. That's the point, getting us deeper into the game and in the series as well."
(On the positives from the series and the youngsters like Sonal Dinusha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Keshara Nuwantha standing up) Yes, of course, it's all about finding the talent for the future of Sri Lankan cricket. I think the selectors and the coach gave me that opportunity to get the youngsters in and let them freely go and do their job for the country.
(On having experienced players return from injury) Yes, of course. That's a good headache. We have three guys who were playing continuously and now have to come back and knock the door again. So, I think, yeah, that's a good headache.
(On what he would have changed in hindsight to change the result of this series) Maybe in the second innings (in Galle), I would have batted a bit longer. Maybe, yeah. That's the point, getting us deeper into the game and in the series as well."
Player of the Match: Sonal Dinusha
Sonal Dinusha (Player of the Match): "[On his preparation] I should mention our coaching staff. They encouraged me, my school coaches, provincial coaches, family and friends as well. So speaking about the preparation, first at Galle and then here, I had an idea that this wicket would turn. I did some quality sessions as well. So that's the thing I get runs.
[On day 5, batting in that situation with the tail. How did he prepare?] I would like to mention the tailenders. They batted really well. That helped me to really get runs as well. I tried to do my best, reading the situation as well.
[On his record] I am really happy about that. I wanted to get runs for the team when we were down. Really happy at the end of the day.
[On playing against India and scoring runs] Yeah, it's a fortune, I think, against India getting runs; it's a pleasure as a player. So yeah, fantastic."
[On day 5, batting in that situation with the tail. How did he prepare?] I would like to mention the tailenders. They batted really well. That helped me to really get runs as well. I tried to do my best, reading the situation as well.
[On his record] I am really happy about that. I wanted to get runs for the team when we were down. Really happy at the end of the day.
[On playing against India and scoring runs] Yeah, it's a fortune, I think, against India getting runs; it's a pleasure as a player. So yeah, fantastic."
Player of the Series: Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal (Player of the Series): "(On winning the Player of the Series award) Yeah, it feels great. It would have been better if we had got the win in this game as well, but at the end of the day, I'm happy that I could contribute.
(On comparison of Galle pitch to this SSC pitch) I think it felt similar, to be honest. Not much change. It was pretty slow here as well, but I think at the end of the day, Sri Lanka have done better at playing on such surfaces, and I think that showed over the last couple of days.
(On facing quality spin on these surfaces) Definitely, it takes a lot of clarity. You need to have clear plans when you go out there. There has been a lot of chat back in the dressing room as well, in terms of how we want to play spin and how we want to tackle spin. I think everyone came with their own plans, and the way the batsmen applied themselves showed out there.
(On returning to the Test side) Definitely. Again, you always want to play and represent your country. You have to keep working hard. That's the only thing that's in your control. The XI is not in your control. You have to keep trying to help your teammates out. Whenever you get that opportunity, you have to make sure that you're ready for it, and I'm happy that I was able to do that.
(On recovering after getting a life early in his innings) That's part of the game, honestly. It's important that you forget that as fast as possible. There's a lot of time left in the game, and it's important that you move on to the next ball. That's what I tried to do.
(On the No. 3 spot in India's batting order) Honestly, I'm just happy to score runs. It doesn't matter where I do it. It can be at number three or anywhere else. It doesn't matter. For me, it's important that the team wins, and as long as I'm contributing to those wins, I'm happy.
(On the challenge ahead with a young batting line-up) Yeah, lots of work to do, I think. As you can see, it's a very young side. It's important that we continue to learn. There's a lot of evolving left to do in every single one of us, and I think everyone is really hungry and looking forward to doing that. I'm sure we'll continue to improve and have some good games ahead."
(On comparison of Galle pitch to this SSC pitch) I think it felt similar, to be honest. Not much change. It was pretty slow here as well, but I think at the end of the day, Sri Lanka have done better at playing on such surfaces, and I think that showed over the last couple of days.
(On facing quality spin on these surfaces) Definitely, it takes a lot of clarity. You need to have clear plans when you go out there. There has been a lot of chat back in the dressing room as well, in terms of how we want to play spin and how we want to tackle spin. I think everyone came with their own plans, and the way the batsmen applied themselves showed out there.
(On returning to the Test side) Definitely. Again, you always want to play and represent your country. You have to keep working hard. That's the only thing that's in your control. The XI is not in your control. You have to keep trying to help your teammates out. Whenever you get that opportunity, you have to make sure that you're ready for it, and I'm happy that I was able to do that.
(On recovering after getting a life early in his innings) That's part of the game, honestly. It's important that you forget that as fast as possible. There's a lot of time left in the game, and it's important that you move on to the next ball. That's what I tried to do.
(On the No. 3 spot in India's batting order) Honestly, I'm just happy to score runs. It doesn't matter where I do it. It can be at number three or anywhere else. It doesn't matter. For me, it's important that the team wins, and as long as I'm contributing to those wins, I'm happy.
(On the challenge ahead with a young batting line-up) Yeah, lots of work to do, I think. As you can see, it's a very young side. It's important that we continue to learn. There's a lot of evolving left to do in every single one of us, and I think everyone is really hungry and looking forward to doing that. I'm sure we'll continue to improve and have some good games ahead."
Shubman Gill (India Captain): "[On what they could have done differently to force a win] Honestly, nothing. I mean, we fielded for about 250 overs, three days consecutively, and we did everything we can. They played brilliantly. I think their batters played really well, and they had a lot of skill and a little bit of luck going their way. So I don't think we could have done anything differently.
[Rate India's performance in the series] A lot of positives for us, even learning from the opposition. I think the position that they were under immense pressure, and the way they came back was tremendous to see. It sort of tells us, and we were talking at lunch and at tea time, that I don't think that we could have done differently. But in the series, a lot of positives for us. Padikkal was brilliant, KL was really good, Manav bowled brilliantly, and Prasidh in both the innings bent their back, both the fast bowlers. So I think we did everything we could.
[How excited is he to see the emerging talent, especially Suthar, Devdutt and Jurel?] Very excited. I think it's really exciting times for us. Very important for us to be consistent on and off the field, in our preparation, in the way we perform, and in how we go about our business. And I think so far there have been a lot of positives for us.
[On Manav Suthar's bowling] Everything, how consistent he is and how well the ball, how well he releases the ball and how the ball goes off from his wrist, from his fingers. He's a very pleasing bowler to see, and I think he's going to be someone who's going to be very, very crucial for us in the upcoming years.
[On the upcoming two big series after this draw dented their WTC chances] Yes, we are going to New Zealand in November, so that's a good series for us, and then we've got a good home series coming. So hopefully, if we have a good New Zealand series, as long as we have a chance, we'll keep believing, and hopefully we'll make it to the finals.
[On playing here, winning here and the opposition Sri Lanka] As I said, I think they played this game brilliantly. In hindsight, you can think, okay, was enforcing the follow-on the right decision? But keeping the weather and everything in mind, we weren't sure if there was going to be a full day of game on day five. But you can only talk about these things in hindsight; when you're in that moment, you try to make the best decision you can, and some of the things didn't go our way, but that's totally fine. This is a game of cricket, and I think in the end the Test cricket won today."
[Rate India's performance in the series] A lot of positives for us, even learning from the opposition. I think the position that they were under immense pressure, and the way they came back was tremendous to see. It sort of tells us, and we were talking at lunch and at tea time, that I don't think that we could have done differently. But in the series, a lot of positives for us. Padikkal was brilliant, KL was really good, Manav bowled brilliantly, and Prasidh in both the innings bent their back, both the fast bowlers. So I think we did everything we could.
[How excited is he to see the emerging talent, especially Suthar, Devdutt and Jurel?] Very excited. I think it's really exciting times for us. Very important for us to be consistent on and off the field, in our preparation, in the way we perform, and in how we go about our business. And I think so far there have been a lot of positives for us.
[On Manav Suthar's bowling] Everything, how consistent he is and how well the ball, how well he releases the ball and how the ball goes off from his wrist, from his fingers. He's a very pleasing bowler to see, and I think he's going to be someone who's going to be very, very crucial for us in the upcoming years.
[On the upcoming two big series after this draw dented their WTC chances] Yes, we are going to New Zealand in November, so that's a good series for us, and then we've got a good home series coming. So hopefully, if we have a good New Zealand series, as long as we have a chance, we'll keep believing, and hopefully we'll make it to the finals.
[On playing here, winning here and the opposition Sri Lanka] As I said, I think they played this game brilliantly. In hindsight, you can think, okay, was enforcing the follow-on the right decision? But keeping the weather and everything in mind, we weren't sure if there was going to be a full day of game on day five. But you can only talk about these things in hindsight; when you're in that moment, you try to make the best decision you can, and some of the things didn't go our way, but that's totally fine. This is a game of cricket, and I think in the end the Test cricket won today."
Shubman Gill collects the series winning trophy and walks to pose with his teammates for the official photographs. Manav Suthar, Devdutt Padikkal and Saransh Jain hold the trophy together for the pictures.
Team India would be disappointed with the result after scoring 503/9 in the first innings and then skittling Sri Lanka for 290. Following-on, a brilliant performance with the bat, the middle and lower middle order shining for Sri Lanka and batting out for a draw. Series finishing 1-0 in team India's favor.
That's it from our coverage of the 2nd Test match from SSC Colombo! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Dev Rajawat, scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal and statistician Aman. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.