India beats Sri Lanka wins Series after 22 years

Happy moment for India.  After setting Sri Lanka a 386-run victory target in the bowler-dominated weather-hit contest, India needed seven wickets on the final day – but  Sri Lanka skipper Mathews (110) and debutant Kusal Perera (70) were defiant. A rush of blood saw Perera getting out, opening the sluice gate for an Indian win !

Ishant Sharma and Dinesh Chandimal have been handed one-match suspensions for behaviour that breached the ICC code of conduct during the SSC Test, while Dhammika Prasad and Lahiru Thirimanne were fined 50% of their match fees. Ishant (who received "two suspension points") will miss India's first Test against South Africa, in Mohali, in November. Chandimal ("one suspension point") will miss Sri Lanka's opening ODI in the home series against West Indies.  Chandimal was penalised, an ICC release stated, for a breach relating to "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player".

The Series victory comes after 22 years – way back in 1993, India won a series here. Today, Angelo Mathews and debutant Kusal Perera kept India at bay for 38.1 overs and 135 runs, giving them an outside chance at an improbable win - still 144 away with 40 overs to go - but Perera fell to a reverse-sweep four overs before new ball and tea. Indians were reminded of Johannesburg, Wellington and Galle over the last 20 months.  With the first over with the new ball, Ishant Sharma, removed Mathews to get  his 200^th  Test wicket and pave the way for India's first away series win in four years and their first in Sri Lanka in 22 years.

In a bowler dominated series, Indians have taken 60 wickets i.e., bowling out the Lankans 6 times.  Ashwin leads with 21; Amit Mishra 15; Dhammika Prasad 15;  Ranganna Herath 15; Ishant Sharma 13 and Kaushal 13 are the top spoilers.

The last time Indians bowled out their opponents in a similar manner was in Nov 1988 – that was against touring New Zealanders.  In the 1^st Test at Bangalore, India won by 172 runs; 2^nd was lost by 136 runs and in the 3^rd at Hyderabad, India won by 10 wickets.

In the 1^st Test it was the not so regular attack of Kapil Dev, Arshad Ayub, Narendra Hirwani, Ravi Shastri and Woorkeri Raman who bowled NZ out for 124.  Hirwani had 6/59; Arshad Ayub had 4 for 53 !  - it was that 1989 series that Indian bowlers took all 60 wickets prior to this – thence Arshad Ayub and Narendra Hirwani had combined to take 41 wickets in three Tests against New Zealand. Overall, this  is  only the 11^th time that bowlers took all 60 wickets of the opposition wickets to fall in a three-Test series.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

1^st Sept 2015