India secured a 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series in Galle on Wednesday, August 19.
In the first Test, India batted first after winning the toss and posted 462 runs, courtesy of Devdutt Padikkal’s 167-run knock. In reply, Sri Lanka could score only 284 runs, with Sonal Dinusha scoring an unbeaten 100.
In the third innings, India racked up 193 runs, with Rishabh Pant (66) being the top scorer. In the chase, Sri Lanka got bundled out for 206 runs as Manav Suthar scalped a six-wicket haul. Devdutt Padikkal was awarded the player of the match for scoring 211 runs across both innings.
On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after SLvIND, 1st Test.
Shubman Gill, Indian captain:
[600th Test for India – how special is this win?] Yes, special indeed. A very satisfying win for us. I think we were in a comfortable position. But to be able to come here, not sure if the match is going to go because of the weather, we were put under a bit of pressure. But I think the team responded really well. [Batting collapse in the second innings – is that a concern?] Honestly, not really. We were wanting to get around 400 in the third innings that we were batting. The wicket wasn’t easy to score runs on. And we were looking to play a little bit more aggressively in the third innings because we wanted that many overs (in the final innings), and we were not sure how many overs we’d be able to bowl on Day 4 and 5. So, that was the thought process. And in that process, we lost some early wickets. But I think overall we were still in a comfortable position.
[On Manav Suthar] He’s been bowling magnificently, even in the first match that he played in India (vs Afghanistan), and in this match. He looks like a very promising guy and someone who can play for India for a very long time. [On Devdutt Padikkal] He was magnificent to watch. It’s important to get hundreds, but even after getting a hundred, how he carried on and got a big one for us, that’s the difference between being in a competitive match and being in a comfortable position. And his knock in the second innings as well, the way he played and the way he dominated the spinners was a treat to watch. [How important is this win for the WTC?] Definitely, that is the ultimate goal, why we are playing. And Test wins don’t come easy, and this one is very delightful.
Devdutt Padikkal, Player of the Match:
[2nd Test at Perth, now at Galle – two tough venues?] Yeah, it’s been one of those things in my career. I started in Dharamshala (Test debut), then a Test in Perth, and now Galle. But I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The game was amazing. I think we played some really good cricket and really happy with the win. [On the surface, did it change across five days?] Definitely, I think the wicket had its natural wear and tear. But I think it was a great Test match wicket. I think all five days it played pretty well. Definitely, it started to turn a lot more from the third day onwards. But I think at the end of the day, it was all about who came out better in terms of their skill sets, and I think we did that well. [Did left-handers enjoy this surface more?] Not really, but obviously it being very dominated by left-arm spinners bowling a lot, I think that contributes to that. Obviously, it was a bit of a slowish wicket. It wasn’t providing that much bite off the wicket, so the left-handers were able to negotiate the left-arm spinners much better. I think that was the key.
Dhananjaya de Silva, Sri Lanka captain:
I thought from the second day onwards, we were in the game mostly, and I thought boys fought hard even in the fourth inning here. It’s not easy, but yeah, I thought it’s a good game. [On the Galle wicket] It was good to bat on the first three days. Obviously, fourth innings won’t be easy, everyone knows that, in Galle. But I thought that the starts that Rahul and Padikkal got, they made them big and put the pressure on us from there. [Did toss play a role?] Maybe, yeah, because they won the toss and got the runs on the board. And, when we’re batting, we just lost early wickets, and we were down and under from there.
