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With a 117-run win against Sri Lanka in the third Test, India claimed the three-match series 2-1. After setting Sri Lanka a 386-run target, the Ishant Sharma-led attack bowled the hosts out for 268 in the final session of the last Test in Colombo. It was after 22 years that India won a Test series in Sri Lanka.
Chasing the target, Angelo Mathews kept Sri Lanka alive through the first two sessions of the day with a meticulously compiled century after resuming the innings on 67 for three on the final day. While the Indian bowlers toiled to maintain the advantage they had created until Lunch the SL skipper and debutant Kusal Perera stitched a 135-run partnership to chip into the deficit until the latter departed late in the second session. Ishant (3 for 32 in 2nd innings finished with eight wickets in the match), then struck with the new ball to send back Mathews and get into the SL lower-order on the third ball after Tea. Ravichandran Ashwin (4 for 69) and Amit Mishra then wrapped up the tail to bowl India to victory.
Chasing the target, Angelo Mathews kept Sri Lanka alive through the first two sessions of the day with a meticulously compiled century after resuming the innings on 67 for three on the final day. While the Indian bowlers toiled to maintain the advantage they had created until Lunch the SL skipper and debutant Kusal Perera stitched a 135-run partnership to chip into the deficit until the latter departed late in the second session. Ishant (3 for 32 in 2nd innings finished with eight wickets in the match), then struck with the new ball to send back Mathews and get into the SL lower-order on the third ball after Tea. Ravichandran Ashwin (4 for 69) and Amit Mishra then wrapped up the tail to bowl India to victory.
Earlier, having claimed three early wickets on the fourth evening, India came out all guns blazing as Mathews with Silva worked to keep SL in the fray. In his first over of the day, Ishant Sharma, who had claimed two of the three wickets on the previous evening, bowled a tight line to keep the pressure up.
The first breakthrough of the day was provided by Umesh Yadav in the fourth over of the day. The pacer, who had been bending his back and extracting bounce from the wicket had the SL opener top-edge one such delivery straight towards mid-wicket where Cheteshwar Pujara pouched the catch.
Lahiru Thirimanne then joined his captain in an effort to keep the SL innings afloat as the Indian bowlers pegged away in search of wickets. Looking to build on the pressure created by Ishant and Yadav, Stuart Binny too bowled a fuller length as he looked to tie the batsmen down.
While he held the innings together, Mathews struck Binny straight down the ground for the odd boundary that came SL’s way.
In the later part of the morning, Kohli brought back the spin duo into the attack and Ravichandran Ashwin responded with a wicket in the first over of his spell. He had Thirimanne scoop a catch to KL Rahul at silly point to keep India in the driver’s seat.
Mathews, however, trudged on and brought up a diligently compiled half-century with runs down the leg side off the off-spinner as he saw the team to Lunch on 134 for five with Perera.
Post lunch, the SL captain got the momentum going with a couple of boundaries off Yadav. He found an able ally in the debutant, who had scored a timely fifty in the first innings as well. The last recognised batting pair of the home team continued to put up a fight as they milked the Indian bowlers with ease.
With a boundary over mid-wicket, Perera became the only the second Sri Lankan to score two fifties on debut. While Indian bowlers tested the batsmen, the pair continued to stoically carry the innings forward. Having shouldered the responsibility keeping the hosts in the fray, the skipper continued to steadily add to the tally and in doing so notched up a hard earned century with four off Binny through mid-wicket.
A bit before the end of the session however, Perera’s reverse-sweep off Ashwin was caught by Rohit Sharma at point, ending the sixth wicket partnership for 135. When the session ended, match was precariously poised with Mathews and Rangana Herath in the middle.
In the first over after Tea, armed with the new ball Ishant claimed Mathews lbw as his 200th Test wicket to bring India within sniffing distance of victory. With the SL skipper’s stay at the crease coming to an end, India had edged their way back into the game.
The perseverance of the visiting team had paid off as they eventually got the vital wicket of Mathews, who had kept the match precariously poised with a determined century. Couple of overs later, Ashwin trapped Herath lbw to leave the hosts on 257 for eight. Later in the over, Dhammika Prasad took the aerial route and was caught at mid-off while accounted for Nuwan Pradeep in the next to bowl SL out in 85 overs.
End of Day 1: India 1st inn 50/2 in 15 overs (C Pujara 19*, V Kohli 14*, D Prasad 1/16, N Pradeep 1/16)
End of Day 2: India 1st inn 292/8 in 95.3 overs (C Pujara 135*, A Mishra 59, D Prasad 4/83)
End of Day 3: India 1st inn 312 all out in 100.1 overs (C Pujara 145*, R Herath 3/84); Sri Lanka 1st inn 201 all out in 52.2 overs (K Perera 55, R Herath 49, I Sharma 5/54, S Binny 2/24, A Mishra 2/25); India 2nd inn 21/3 in 8.1 overs (V Kohli 1*, R Sharma 14*, N Pradeep 2/6)
End of Day 4: India 2nd inn 274 all out in 76 overs (R Ashwin 58, R Sharma 50, S Binny 49, N Pradeep 4/62, D Prasad 3/69); Sri Lanka 2nd inn 67/3 in 18.1 overs (K Silva 24*, A Mathews 22*, I Sharma 2/14)
End of day 5: Sri Lanka 2nd inn 268 all out in 85 overs (A Mathews 110, K Perera 70, R Ashwin 4/69, I Sharma 3/32)
Man of the Match: Cheteshwar Pujara (145*), who carried his bat through in the first innings to set-up the match for India.
Man of the Series: Ravichandran Ashwin for taking 21 wickets in the match and scoring a valuable half-century in the final innings of the third Test.
Man of the Series: Ravichandran Ashwin for taking 21 wickets in the match and scoring a valuable half-century in the final innings of the third Test.
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News Source- BCCI
Image Source- BCCI.TV
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