5 Reasons why team India won the Test series against Sri Lanka

5 Reasons why team India won the Test series against Sri Lanka: Winning a Test series in Sri Lanka after 22 years; the cricketing world might be forgiven for not showing enough appreciation on this feat by India, especially given that most of them were busy watching Australia succumb to yet another Ashes defeat on English soil (Who’s the home track bully now!). But, does that make this feat any less appreciative? I don’t think so!

Without the services of ever-present MSD, this was the first full-fledged Test series for team India under the leadership of Virat Kohli (discounting the one-off Test in Bangladesh of course) and boy was he impressive! The young Delhiite had good series with bat and an amazing one as a Captain that earned him applause from all corners of the world.

The pitches, surprisingly, were very difficult to bat on, and I say surprisingly because it was the seam bowlers who extracted the most out of the pitch instead of the spinners. Very unlike the Lankan pitches of the past. Most of the time, it was an individual performance that decided the fate of the game. Let’s take a look at few of the things that helped India clinch their first series win in Lanka after 22 years:

1. Ravichandran Ashwin:

The offie was a changed bowler in the conditions slightly helpful for the spinners. Over the years, Ashwin has been criticized for trying too much instead of sticking to his basics. That surely wasn’t the case here as the Chennai boy did everything perfectly scalping up 21 wickets in the process.

Playing as an all-rounder, Ashwin didn’t have a very good time with the bat, but he surely made it up when it mattered; in the last inning of the last Test! There’s no denying that if he can continue his good form with the bat, Kohli will have an easier time sticking with 5 bowler strategy in the future.

2. Ishant Sharma:

The butt of all the jokes; hardly anyone has paid attention to the fact that, over the last year or so, Ishant Sharma has become the spearhead of our bowling attack.

Yes, whenever you talk about Ishant, consistency is the key. The Delhi lad has an astounding capacity of bowling an unplayable ball and then following it up with a-short and wide rubbish; all in the same over. A part of the reason he hasn’t been a success in limited over cricket!

But, when Ishant is at his best, consistently, as we saw in this tour of Lanka, he is a deadly force to be reckoned with! No doubt he was one of the biggest reasons we picked up 60 wickets in 6 innings; not something we are usually associated with, is it?

3. Standing up when it mattered:

Cheteshwar Pujara’s century in the first innings of last Test match was described by Kohli as “one of the best innings I have seen in the Test matches”. The pitch was assisting the seamers, the ball was moving left and right, and Dhammika was at the top of his game, you could imagine how hard it was to bat in those conditions!

Same way, a timely, counter-attacking fifty by Rohit Sharma in the second innings when we were struggling, or that partnership between Mishra and Ashwin when Lanka were looking to get back into the game. The angry Ishanth Sharma ripping apart the Sri Lankan top order like flies; all I am trying to say here is our player seized the moment when it mattered.

As I said previously, Cricket is a team game, but this series was more of an individual taking away the game in a session with a touch of brilliance, that’s what defined this series. It was Dinesh Chandimal’s unbelievable innings that won the first Test for Sri Lanka, but it were the Indians who were better in seizing the opportunity, thus clinching the series.

4. Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli’s tactical smartness was something we all doubted before this series. Will he ever be as good as Dhoni? Does he have the capability to take our team forward? Will he be good tactically?

These were some of the questions that every fan pondered of Virat Kohli. Fair to say, the 26-year-old has come out with flying colors after this series.

His confidence in Amit Mishra and Rohit Sharma who gradually helped India with the ball and bat respectively paid off. His idea of playing Pujara as an opener while shifting Rahane to the number three position (both of them scored hundreds), even his bowling changes and the decision of playing Binny ahead of Bhuvi turned out to be correct. Fair to say, anything he touched turned to gold.

Yes, it’s true that things won’t always go his way, but his understanding of the game and the fact that we are looking to play an attacking brand of cricket under him, will more often than not help us going forward.

5. Ravi Shastri:

The man behind all this!

Virat Kohli and almost every Indian player; be it Rohit Sharma or Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara have thanked Ravi Shastri for helping them as a player since his arrival in the back staff of this Indian team.

Now, we might not know what goes on in the dressing room, but it’s obvious that Ravi has played a big part in changing the mindset of this Indian side. The 5 bowler side, the attacking intent, the trust shown by sticking with the same player has been some of the highlights of his tenure with the team.

We might not have seen the results of all this in Australia last year, but it seems like we have started reaping the rewards now. Hopefully, this new-look Indian side continues its development. The series against South Africa next month is going to be an interesting one for sure!