India crush Lanka by innings and 239 runs

Wednesday 29th November 2017 06:09 EST
 
 

India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second cricket Test for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, in Nagpur on Monday. The victory margin is identical to India’s Test win over Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2007 when Rahul Dravid was captain.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (4/63) completed a coveted personal milestone of fastest 300 Test wickets in 54 games, beating Dennis Lillee’s previous record of 56 matches, as he took the last wicket of Sri Lanka, who were dismissed for a paltry 166 in their second innings.

Ashwin, who had a match-haul of 8 for 130, bowled Lahiru Gamage with a doosra to bring down curtains on one of the most lop-sided Test matches in recent times. The celebrations were very muted with teammates shaking hands with Ashwin before quietly walking off the field.

Skipper Dinesh Chandimal (61) was the only Sri Lankan batsman to show some resistance as others never matched up to what is required to play highest level of international cricket. The manner of abject surrender in this Test match would certainly hurt the island nation, which till few years back was a force to reckon in international cricket. Just like the Test matches in Sri Lanka, they lost the Test match well inside three and a half days.

Ishant Sharma (2/43) looked menacing as he bowled short and quick while Ravindra Jadeja (2/28) was the beneficiary of some sharp fielding from Murali Vijay and indiscretion from the part of opposition batsmen. Umesh Yadav (2/30) had a chance of completing his 100 wickets in Test but fell one short as the Tamil Nadu tweaker got to his milestone first.

Dimuth Karunaratne (18) was the first to get out when he tried to flick Jadeja and Murali Vijay standing at short leg had the ball jam into him. The Tamil Nadu player showed good reflexes as Karunaratne was left stunned.

Lahiru Thirimanne (23) stunned one and all when he chased a wide delivery from Umesh Yadav to hand Jadeja at point the simplest of catches. Former captain Angelo Mathews (10) was expected to show some responsibility while batting alongside Chandimal but his choice of shot also left a lot to be desired.

Having hit Jadeja for a six over long-on, he tried the same shot over long-off but failed to clear Rohit Sharma at mid-off. Mathews used to look a fine player when Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were around but post their retirement, he has not been able to find his mojo. During the first innings, Lanka batsmen were out scoring 205 runs. Dinesh Chandimal 57 and Dimuth Karunaratne 51 were the only two to score valuable runs for Lanka. In reply India scored 610 for six. Virat Kohli 213, Murali Vijay 128, Cheteshwar Pujara 143 and Rahul Sharma 102 were the main contributors for India's massive total.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 205 (Dinesh Chandimal 57, Dimuth Karunaratne 51; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-67, Ishant Sharma 3-37, Ravindra Jadeja 3-56) & 166 (Dinesh Chandimal 61; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-63) lost to India 610/6 (Virat Kohli 213, Murali Vijay 128, Cheteshwar Pujara 143, Rohit Sharma 102; Dilruwan Perera 1-157) by an innings and 239 runs.


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