Sri Lanka v India 3rd Test match: 5 Talking Points

Sri Lanka v India 3rd Test match: 5 Talking Points: Coming into the match both the Asian teams had different set of challenges though one common thing was that they would go all-out to win the series decider. India had not won a Test series for 22 years in Sri Lanka carried on their winning momentum from the 2nd Test into this one and in the end put up a commanding show in the match to win the Test series 2-1 and conquer the Lankan challenge.

Lankan’s also battled hard with a lot of grit to ignite fire on the 22 yards. But, ultimately it was the Indian cricket team which defeated Sri Lanka by 117 runs at SSC, Colombo.

Here are the Sri Lanka v India 3rd Test match: 5 Talking Points:

1. Mathews and Pujara’s gritty century:

As they say cometh the hour cometh the champion. This Test match presented a do or die situation for both the sides. But it was the heroics of Cheteshwar Pujara in the 1^st innings of the Test where he played an enterprising knock of 145 runs that helped the tourists get into a position of ascendancy. While on the final day when Lankan lions were in a dire situation their skipper Angelo Mathews led from the front and put up a resilient show with the bat. He scored 110 runs but unfortunately his innings went in vain as India broke through him and won the match.

2. Ishant Sharma’s hostile fast bowling:

Since 2014, Ishant Sharma has been in belligerent form with the ball and now with each passing Test match he is finally justifying why he was persisted with for so long. In the match which mattered the most Ishant was in red-hot form and ended up with match figures of 8/86. On the final day, Mathews was proving to be the biggest hurdle in India’s path to glory but Sharma outfoxed him with an in-swinger and then it didn’t take much time for the visitors to bundle out the rest of the Lankan’s.

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3. The pitch:

The pitch at SSC, Colombo was a belter of a track and very rarely that we get to see such lively tracks in the sub-continent. The deck had green grass on it which aided the seamers throughout the match. Generally, the Sri Lankan pitches are heaven for spinners but this time around it was not the case. There were also some spots on the deck from where the ball took off. The pacers of both the sides made the full use of the helpful conditions and accumulated 28 wickets in the match.

4. Verbal spats:

As this match was the series decider, both the teams didn’t hesitate in indulging into altercations. In the 3^rd session of the 4^th day, tempers flared up between Dhammika and Ishant Sharma after Prasad delivered barrage of bouncers. Even Chandimal was spotted having slight physical contact with Ishant in the heat of the moment. Prasad was seen running behind Ishant towards the dressing room. When Ishant got rid of Chandimal, he crazily banged his own head while celebrating. Both the young teams were fired up. Later Ishant, Prasad, Chandimal and Thirimanne were charged for breaching the ICC code of conduct.

5. India conquered Lanka after 22 years:

When Virat Kohli arrived in Sri Lanka it was anticipated to be his litmus test as the skipper of the side. After the defeat in the 1st Test, it looked like Sri Lanka would again march victorious in their friendly home conditions. But the Indian team made a remarkable comeback in the series as the batters and bowlers put up a resilient show in the last 2 Tests. The Indian bowlers exploited the inexperience of Lankan batsmen while players like KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma proved their worth with the bat. Even the catching, be it in the slips or close-in was exceptional. India dominated in all the three departments of the game and it was their collective team efforts which helped them conquer the Lankan challenge.