Vaibhav Tripathi, Galle
A stone’s throw from the Galle International Cricket Stadium stands the Galle Fort, a landmark where Sri Lanka’s flag is almost always part of the scenery. But as the first Test slipped into its final moments, another flag took centre stage. High above the ground, the Indian tricolour was raised as India completed a memorable victory.
A 165-run win gave India the opening Test and, in the process, another reason to celebrate in Galle. The players stood together on the field, the tricolour flying above them, creating an image that will linger long after the scorecard is forgotten.
Then came the rain.
Only moments after India had sealed victory, the showers arrived. Had they arrived a few minutes earlier, they might have forced India to wait for the result of their 600th Test. They could not, however, alter the outcome.
For a young Indian side, most of whom were playing a Test in Sri Lanka for the first time, it was an impressive introduction. Galle had been conquered, and a new generation had announced itself in style.
The tourists were clinical in all departments.
One playing his second Test and the other his third, Manav and Devdutt Padikkal were the chief architects of the win. Manav continues to impress with his old-school left-arm spin methods and, playing alongside Ravindra Jadeja for the first time, he outbowled the senior pro. A ten-wicket haul is always a special feat to achieve, and Manav did so in emphatic fashion. The young spinner got the ball to turn the most, and his mantra of spot bowling clearly worked wonders for him, as was the case on his Test debut against Afghanistan.
Devdutt Padikkal was not the team’s first-choice No. 3 option coming into this tour. An injury to Sai Sudharsan paved the way for him to get a chance, and he grabbed it with both hands. Padikkal’s 167 put India ahead in the match early on as they posted 462 in the first innings. He followed it up with 44 in the second innings. The most likeable aspect of his batting was the way he judged the length against spinners. He used his reach really well, his footwork was fine, and the sweep shots that he had practised during the net session at NCC paid off in the game.
Pictures of Pant from this Test paint a story in themselves. Bat going somewhere, body not in balance, one leg in the air – Pant was at his unorthodox best when India needed quick runs in order to set Sri Lanka a target. Pant has made a habit of scoring tough runs, and once again he delivered for the team when they needed it. Perhaps because of his 66, India got enough time with the ball in the fourth innings to bowl Sri Lanka out. Ugly but mighty effective – that was Pant.
Before the start of the Test, Shubman Gill said that Prasidh Krishna was bowling the best he had ever seen him bowl. That ended the debate of Prasidh vs Gurnoor Brar, as the team went with the former. Prasidh repaid the trust with three wickets in the game. More than the number of wickets, it was about the timing of the dismissals and the batters he got out. In the first innings, he broke the 100-plus-run partnership between Niroshan Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha by dismissing the former. That wicket was very important at that point. He got the same batter out in the second innings as well.
Kamindu Mendis, who averages the most with the bat in the current Sri Lankan team, was made to chase a delivery outside off by Prasidh. There were numerous occasions when he beat the bat of the Sri Lankan batters, and his pace was up. It seems like with every outing, he is getting better.
Under new fielding coach Shubhadeep Ghosh, it was India’s first Test, and he would be pleased with the team’s fielding in the game, especially the catching. Close catching was top-notch. Apart from a couple of drops, India largely did well on the field.
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