India v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, 2017 - 5 Talking Points

What Sunil Gavaskar said yesterday might sound ridiculous and is only meant as a joke, but had his wish been granted, this tasteless series would have had some spice in it. He wanted the India-Sri Lanka series to be held in South Africa since this massively one-sided series is a warm-up to India’s overseas challenge against the Proteas.

By the looks of it, the Lankan team seem to be in an unending transition phase, and there’s no way out of it. As of the Indian players, the batters know very well that they might have only one chance to bat and hence are making most of it. The bowlers know that this is the time to add some wickets to their tally, and are making a mockery of the Lankan batters.

Once again, Sri Lanka had to face a humiliating innings defeat. After wrapping them up for just 205, the Indian batters piled up 610 runs, which included 3 centuries and a double-century. The second innings was no different either, as the Lankans were bowled out for just 166. Let us now take a look at the 5 Talking Points of the match.

1. Virat Kohli’s 5th Test double hundred

What does Kohli’s to-do list look like? Wake up, work out, score a century. This guy makes century at his own will, and there’s no way stopping him. Once again, the record-breaker broke a record, and this time that of Sir Don Bradman‘s. He is now standing alongside Brain Charles Lara as these greats of the game have scored 5 double-tons during their reign as the skipper.

His 213 from 267 balls comprised of 2 over-boundaries and 17 classy shots that fetched him boundaries. The Indian skipper is on 51 international centuries now, having crossed the halfway mark of Sachin Tendulkar’s remarkable achievement. Judging by how swiftly things are moving for the 29-year-old Delhi lad, it is about time we see someone achieve such a magnificent feat except the god of cricket.

2. Rohit Sharma’s grand comeback

A lot was said about the selection of Rohit Sharma in the Test squad. He is one of India’s prized assets in the limited-overs format, but has not proved his spot in Tests. However, the VCA stadium of Nagpur saw why the hitman is a player of all three formats. With his skipper at one end, Sharma accumulated 102 runs and was unbeaten, since India declared after his ton.

3. Ishant justifies his selection

Talking about grand comebacks, it wasn’t only Rohit who had to justify his position in the team. The tall and lanky pacer from Delhi, Ishant Sharma proved why he is still a lethal bowler in Tests. Sharma picked three wickets in the first innings, and bagged two in the second, one of which was the crucial wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne. In a spinner-dominated game, his 5 wickets were highly commendable.

4. Ashwin-Jadeja combination still working

There was once a time when the spin twin of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja played every format for India. Things have changed now, and Kohli has found better alternatives for the limited overs format in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. But the cliched ‘class is permanent’ phrase was testified yet again, as they picked up 13 wickets out of the 20 on a pitch that didn’t really turn and batting was still easier.

5. No end to Sri Lanka’s batting woes

Another match, and yet another complete batting collapse from Sri Lanka. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it surely took less time than what the Lankan cricketers are taking to come out of their transition phase. Batting for 90 overs is like walking The Great Wall of China to and fro for them, and the spin twins of India are spinning webs around their heads. They scored just 371 runs for the loss of 20 wickets in this game. When will we see the same old Sri Lanka? The question goes unanswered for the umpteenth time.