Sonal Dinusha’s unbeaten century and gritty support from the tailenders helped Sri Lanka draw the second Test on the final day at the SSC. India sealed the two-match series 1-0.
With a slender lead of 16 runs and four wickets in hand, the hosts resumed their second innings on the fifth day. While India looked to wrap things up, Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha frustrated the bowlers with a determined partnership.
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Despite taking the second new ball, the visitors went wicketless in the morning session. The two overnight batters survived everything thrown at them while continuing to add runs. Their partnership crossed 100, with Dinusha reaching his fourth 50-plus score of the series, while Nuwantha moved closer to his maiden Test fifty. Sri Lanka extended their lead to 116 by lunch.
Manav Suthar finally brought the curtain down on the absorbing 112-run partnership with just the fourth ball of the second session. Nuwantha looked determined throughout the stand, which lasted nearly 250 deliveries, but fell four runs short of his maiden half-century.
He became only the second Sri Lankan batter batting at No. 8 or lower to face 150 balls or more while following on, after Chaminda Vaas faced 188 balls for his unbeaten 50 at Lord’s in 2006.
Prabath Jayasuriya also refused to give his wicket away cheaply. He took 27 balls to get off the mark before eventually being dismissed by Jadeja, leaving the hosts eight down for 355 after a 25-run partnership that lasted 71 balls. Lahiru Kumara then continued from where he left off in the first innings, showing tremendous grit and once again providing valuable support to his well-set partner. Dinusha moved closer to another century as Sri Lanka went into tea with the game still alive.
Right after the break, Dinusha went on to register his third Test hundred of the series, becoming only the third Sri Lankan batter to score three centuries in a two-match Test series. After facing 58 balls in the first innings, Kumara battled for 90 balls this time as the ninth-wicket partnership was eventually broken after 47 runs off 169 deliveries.
The last-wicket stand lasted another 56 balls, with Sri Lanka finally declaring on 429/9 after being forced to follow on. Dinusha finished unbeaten on a magnificent 133 as the players shook hands, confirming the match had ended in a draw, with India taking the two-match series 1-0.
Sonal Dinusha was adjudged Player of the Match for his outstanding performance, finishing the series with 420 runs. Devdutt Padikkal was named Player of the Series, having scored 320 runs in three innings.
Brief Scores:
India 503/9 (138) Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115*, Rishabh Pant 63, Shubman Gill 50, Asitha Fernando 4/106
Sri Lanka 290 (89.4) Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80 Prasidh Krishna 3/52, Manav Suthar 3/85 & 429/9 f/0 (154) Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92, Kamindu Mendis 55, Keshara Nuwantha 46, Ravindra Jadeja 3/94, Manav Suthar 3/121
Match Drawn.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | b Asitha Fernando | 45 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 84.91 |
| KL Rahul | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara | 18 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 54.55 |
| Devdutt Padikkal | b Keshara Nuwantha | 117 | 193 | 12 | 0 | 60.62 |
| Shubman Gill | c Niroshan Dickwella b Asitha Fernando | 50 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 46.30 |
| Rishab Pant | c Lahiru Udara b Keshara Nuwantha | 63 | 89 | 6 | 2 | 70.79 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | b Asitha Fernando | 43 | 83 | 4 | 0 | 51.81 |
| Dhruv Jurel | not out | 115 | 177 | 9 | 2 | 64.97 |
| Saransh Jain | c Kamil Mishara b Asitha Fernando | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Manav Suthar | c Niroshan Dickwella b Prabath Jayasuriya | 18 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 35.29 |
| Mohammed Siraj | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 3 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 10.34 |
| Prasidh krishna | not out | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Extras | 21 (b 8 , lb 3 , nb 3, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 503/9 (138 Overs, RR: 3.64) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 29 | 5 | 106 | 4 | 3.66 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 20 | 4 | 68 | 1 | 3.40 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 42 | 7 | 132 | 2 | 3.14 | |
| Keshara Nuwantha | 38 | 3 | 154 | 2 | 4.05 | |
| Sonal Dinusha | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2.67 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Kamil Mishara | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Udara | c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Prasidh krishna | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Dhruv Jurel b Prasidh krishna | 19 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 76.00 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | lbw b Manav Suthar | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| sooriya bandara | lbw b Ravindra Jadeja | 80 | 133 | 9 | 0 | 60.15 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Ravindra Jadeja b Prasidh krishna | 32 | 58 | 3 | 1 | 55.17 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c KL Rahul b Manav Suthar | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Sonal Dinusha | c KL Rahul b Saransh Jain | 103 | 162 | 8 | 3 | 63.58 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Dhruv Jurel b Mohammed Siraj | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Keshara Nuwantha | c Saransh Jain b Manav Suthar | 18 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 24.32 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Dhruv Jurel b Saransh Jain | 12 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 20.69 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Extras | 14 (b 0 , lb 6 , nb 6, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 290/10 (89.4 Overs, RR: 3.23) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 11 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Prasidh krishna | 16 | 2 | 52 | 3 | 3.25 | |
| Manav Suthar | 22 | 1 | 85 | 3 | 3.86 | |
| Saransh Jain | 20.4 | 5 | 69 | 2 | 3.38 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 20 | 4 | 45 | 1 | 2.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Udara | c Saransh Jain b Mohammed Siraj | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Kamil Mishara | lbw b Ravindra Jadeja | 32 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 82.05 |
| sooriya bandara | st Rishab Pant b Manav Suthar | 92 | 173 | 10 | 1 | 53.18 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Shubman Gill b Prasidh krishna | 55 | 92 | 2 | 3 | 59.78 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Devdutt Padikkal b Manav Suthar | 23 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 52.27 |
| Sonal Dinusha | not out | 133 | 264 | 8 | 2 | 50.38 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | lbw b Saransh Jain | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Keshara Nuwantha | c Dhruv Jurel b Manav Suthar | 46 | 150 | 4 | 0 | 30.67 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Dhruv Jurel b Ravindra Jadeja | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 7.14 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Ravindra Jadeja | 12 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 13.33 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 25 (b 7 , lb 8 , nb 7, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 429/9 (154 Overs, RR: 2.79) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prasidh krishna | 18.3 | 3 | 57 | 1 | 3.11 | |
| Mohammed Siraj | 15 | 7 | 26 | 1 | 1.73 | |
| Manav Suthar | 41 | 7 | 121 | 3 | 2.95 | |
| Saransh Jain | 37 | 4 | 98 | 1 | 2.65 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 38.3 | 4 | 94 | 3 | 2.45 | |
| Shubman Gill | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9.00 | |
| Dhruv Jurel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | |
