1:57pm That will be a wrap from us for this game. Plenty of positives for India, not least the emergence of two players who are very early into their Test careers. Some positives for Sri Lanka too, most notably the resilience shown by Dinusha. And all of that could yet play a part because this series is not done yet. The second Test begins in a few days, and that will offer SL a chance to hit back, even as India try to secure a clean sweep.
We would love your company for that too, and we would like to thank you for all the comments throughout this game. Until next time, from Alagappan, Chetan, Chandan, Deiva, Harshith, Vairavan and myself (Shashwat), it is goodbye!
Devdutt Padikkal, Player of the Match: Started in Dharamsala, then Perth, could not have asked for anything more (from this game in Galle). The wicket had its natural wear and tear, was a good Test wicket. Turned a lot more from the third day onwards. In the end, it was all about who came out on top with their skillset. It was a bit of a slowish wicket, was not providing a lot of bite, so left-handed batters were able to negate the left-arm spinners.
Shubman Gill: Very satisfying win for us. We were in a comfortable position, but were not sure if the match would go on (because of the weather), but the team responded well. (On if the second innings batting performance concerns him) Not really. We wanted to get around 400 in the third innings. Wicket was not easy to score runs at will, so were looking to play more aggressively. Were unsure of how many overs we would be able to bowl on day four and five. In that process, lost a few wickets but we were still in a comfortable position. (On Suthar) He has been bowling magnificently. Looks like a very promising guy and someone who can play for India for a long time. (On Padikkal) He has magnificent to watch. Important to get hundreds but even after getting a hundred…he got a big one. Being in a competitive match and in a comfortable position…the way he batted and dominated in the second innings, was great to watch. (On having sights set on the WTC final) That is the ultimate goal. Test wins do not come easy and this one is delightful.
Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka captain: I thought from the second day onwards, we were in the game. Boys fought hard, even in the fourth innings. It is not easy (batting fourth in Galle). It was a good game. (On the pitch) Good to bat on first three days. Obviously fourth innings would not be easy in Galle. The starts Rahul and Padikkal got, they made them big and put pressure. (On if the toss played a role) Maybe, yeah. They won the toss, get the runs on the board, and with our batting, we lost wickets and it went downhill from there.
Time for the presentation now.
Prasanna S: "Safe to say one of the spin baton has been passed from Ashwin to Suthar. " -- Still early days, and HUGE shoes to fill. But Suthar has done his reputation no harm so far.
KM Sudarshan : "A big big shout out to the Galle curator and the groundstaff. We had an amazing pitch which had everyone who were willing to apply themselves ,execute their skills. Minimum stoppages in play despite the rains."
Hello again, everyone. Still waiting on the post-match presentation, delayed presumably due to that sharp shower in the immediate aftermath of this contest. Stick around - we should have it soon.
And even as that sideline interview is going on, the rain starts to fall and the presentation ceremony is being waved off, back indoors, It is absolutely poouuuuring now. Shashwat back with you for the presentations.
Anand: "Dear Rain... you are just three overs late...."
Gowri: "Did Suthar get weather alert from MET department?"
James: "Just woke up in Amsterdam, it is my birthday today. Thank you Suthar and India for this nice birthday present"
1.25pm KL Rahul: Just relieved honestly. We knew one big shower was going to come and we didn't want to delay the game. They had one big partnership but we knew if we could break that, we could get into their tail. It was a great Test match. The wicket played really well all five days. There was something in it for the spinners, obviously. But batters who applied themselves did well. We saw that from Sonal, who really committed to a method with his sweep shot. Fast bowlers took wickets too. We knew the new ball was going to come and if we couldn't get wickets, we knew the new ball was out chance. But through the day, we wanted to put the ball in the right areas. We know the opposition had good batters and they're also allowed to score runs. But we knew once we broke a partnership, we knew we'd get two or three quickly. Someone who walked in there, thinking I'll see what to do based on how the pitch behaves, those were the batters who struggled. If you went out there with a plan, you could do well
1.22pm India win their 600th Test match. A win that's been set up by a No. 3 batter in his third Test match and a left-arm spin bowler in his second Test match. Benefitting from batting first in Galle, Devdutt Padikkal made 167 and provided his team with a 178-run lead. Suthar used it beautifully to pick up 10 wickets showing the ability to turn the ball and the ability to push it through straight. High ceiling, classical spinner.
Sri Lanka have a lot of hard questions to answer, particularly about their top order which just keeps crumbling over and over. When they have players like Dhananjaya de Silva and Sonal Dinusha, who look so accomplished even against extremely disciplined bowling, they should be inspiring more support.
Dhonz : "Well done Suthar. Simply outstanding . Some positives for SL today, but the top order woes will have to be fixed. Meanwhile, India have some batting problems of their own, and Kuldeep's form is a concern. The second test is an exciting prospect "
K Nuwantha b Suthar 20 (64m 69b 3x4 0x6) SR: 28.98
END OF OVER:77 | 1 Run | SL: 200/9
- Asitha Fernando0 (1b)
- Keshara Nuwantha14 (65b)
- Ravindra Jadeja23-3-71-1
- Manav Suthar23-2-49-5
Ravindra Dhar : "Any possibility of immediate rain !"
Umair: "I just went away for one over and we've lost 3 wickets "
FLAME: "This has been a superb bowling performance by Manav Suthar !! A 4-fer in the first innings and 5-fer in the second innings in just his second test"
END OF OVER:76 | (wicket maiden) | SL: 199/9
- Keshara Nuwantha13 (60b)
- Manav Suthar23-2-49-5
- Ravindra Jadeja22-3-70-1
CBRLS Kumara c †Pant b Suthar 0 (2m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
Suthar on a hat-trick in his second Test. Kumara to face
NGRP Jayasuriya b Suthar 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
GS Dinusha c Jurel b Suthar 84 (219m 128b 8x4 1x6) SR: 65.62
END OF OVER:75 | 3 Runs | SL: 199/6
- Keshara Nuwantha13 (60b)
- Sonal Dinusha84 (127b)
- Ravindra Jadeja22-3-70-1
- Manav Suthar22-1-49-2
