Colombo: Centurion Sonal Dinusha’s unbending will en route an epic unbeaten 133 helped Sri Lanka enact a great jail break, battling persistent Indian bowlers, a fifth-day track and the weariness of following-on to eke out a memorable draw in the second and final Test here on Thursday.
India won the two-match series 1-0, riding on their 165-run victory in the first Test at Galle, but Lanka can be proud of the way they fought back at the SSC ground.
Dinusha, who faced 264 balls across 420 minutes, was Lanka’s Superman with an invisible cape around him, registering his third hundred
of the series which was also his fourth 50-plus score in as many innings this series.
Dinusha faced as many as 722 balls and batted 1139 minutes over the course of the two-match series.
The 25-year-old also became the only the third batter to score twin hundreds in a Test match where his team followed-on, joining India’s Vijay Hazare and Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower in an elite club.
This statistical marvel enabled Lanka to end their second innings at 429 for nine declared for an overall lead of 216 runs, and at that point the players shook their hands, signalling the stalemate.
But the situation was way different when Sri Lanka resumed the day at 229 for six, a mere 16 runs ahead. It seemed just a matter of time before the home side caved in.
But the opposite happened as the Indians bowed to the spirit of the Lankan batters – Dinusha, who reached hundred in 196 balls, and Keshara Nuwantha (46, 150b).
The two milked 112 runs for the seventh wicket in 246 balls, which saw Lanka safely treading the first session without even losing a wicket.
But India enjoyed a rare moment of delight in the initial part of the post-lunch passage, as Manav Suthar dislodged Nuwantha, whose edge was taken safely by Dhruv Jurel in the slip.
Sri Lanka then mounted a mini fightback through Dinusha and Prabath Jayasuriya (2, 28b).
The eighth wicket pair added only 25 runs but took 74 balls for it, pushing the clock further.
Ravindra Jadeja fetched another breakthrough as he jettisoned Jayasuriya, inducing an edge from the batter for Jurel in the second slip.
But they ran into another obdurate Lankan – Lahiru Kumara (12, 122m, 90b), with whom Dinusha added 47 runs but consumed 170 balls to wipe out the hopes of a victory from