With the match drawn and the chance of a series sweep having slipped, Shubman Gill turned philosophical and looked at the broader picture.
The India captain reckoned that “Test cricket won” after Sri Lanka produced a stirring rearguard action to deny India a 2-0 series win, which could have improved their chances of making it to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).
Sonal Dinusha’s third hundred in his fourth innings led the home team to a stunning draw in the second Test at the SSC in Colombo on Thursday. The lefthander’s second century in the Test saw him finish with 420 runs, the most by any batter in the series.
He added 211 runs with the last four wickets in the second innings as the Indian bowlers toiled for 89.4 overs during this period. Dinusha, who bats at No. 6, practically batted the whole match with the Lankan lower-order batters, while enforcing a stunning fightback.
But was Gill trying to cover up certain inadequacies in the side after failing to pull off a victory despite dominating for the first four days? Did the spinners look too predictable, which reflected in their inability to find breakthroughs on the final day?
Were they tired after Gill decided to enforce the follow-on on a flat wicket?
A draw can occasionally sound like a win and Sri Lanka could share that feeling in Colombo. India’s insipid bowling did play its part, with Mohammed Siraj lacking the penetration and threat right through the series.
There was no reverse swing on offer and that made his task even more difficult. Even the short ball trap didn’t work.
As Dinusha called the shots, India’s body language turned timid. Shoulders kept drooping as there was no effort to make things happen. Things reached such a stage that Gautam Gambhir was forced to summon Gill to the dressing room before the Lunch break for a brief chat.
Gill’s strategy and tactics were also baffling at times. The open fields and lack of close catchers often made the task of Dinusha’s batting partners easier. Gill kept fielders positioned for a reverse-sweep and when it didn’t work, he seemed clueless.
The new ball didn’t work; he tried to manoeuvre the field positions, albeit defensively, but nothing produced the desired result. Sri Lanka were in no hurry to make the runs, they went out with a ploy to kill time and were successful.
India’s spinners, Manav Suthar, Ravindra Jadeja and Saransh Jain each bowled 35-plus overs in the second innings and 55-plus overs in the match. But they never seemed threatening except for, perhaps, Suthar in brief spells.
Dinusha and Asitha Fernando batted out 56 balls, the bulk of them delivered by part-timers, before the handshakes came out at the first possible opportunity. Sri Lanka at that stage had extended their lead to 216.
A 2-0 scoreline would have been ideal. India have a huge task to improve their standings in the WTC table. They can’t afford a slip-up in the remaining seven Tests – two in New Zealand and five at home against Australia.