Dhananjaya, Roshen deny India 2-0
Dhananjaya de Silva and the debutant Roshen Silva were Sri Lanka's fifth-day heroes as they fought their way to a drawn third Test
Dhananjaya de Silva and the debutant Roshen Silva were Sri Lanka's fifth-day heroes as they fought their way to a drawn third Test
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Shashank Kishore
Right. End of what has been an enjoyable series. Time to sign-off, but don't forget, we're back for the first ODI of this tour on December 10. Hope to see you then. Until then, it's time for me, Shashank Kishore, to say goodbye. Cheers! Be well
Some news from the Indian camp as we sign-off: KL Rahul and Umesh Yadav will not turn out for Karnataka and Vidarbha respectively in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy beginning on Thursday. While Rahul misses out with a niggle, none of the fast bowlers selected for the South Africa tour next month will be released for the Ranji Trophy knockouts. That means Ishant Sharma, Umesh and Mohammed Shami, whose teams have made the last eight, will not be available for Delhi, Vidarbha and Bengal respectively should they advance to the semi-finals.
Time for the presentation
Virat Kohli wins the Man of the Match award for scores of 243 and 50. He's also Man of the series for his tally of 610 runs. Three hundreds, including two double tons. "It was a good series personally and for the team," he says. "It was kind of a revelation that I can play in Tests the way I can do in ODIs. There's nothing called set pattern these days, if you can believe in yourself, you can achieve anything in any format. When I wasn't captain, it was difficult to think of situations. When I was finding my feet in Test cricket, I was under pressure. When I got to a milestone, I relaxed. Now, it's a lot different."
On Rohit: "We've always believed he can change the game in the lower middle order. Very happy with the way the batsmen are playing, everyone won't be able to score in every series, obviously. There are a few areas we have to work on, though."
On not getting 20 wickets: "When you're not able to finish off in the second innings after having them three down on day four is disappointing. But they played well, they showed composure and confidence. The pitch got tired in the end. They didn't give us any chances to get into the game. In hindsight, if we would've grabbed our chances in the first innings, maybe they wouldn't have got so many runs. We should've done better. The slip catching and fielding, we need to work on."
On slip catching: "Firstly, from his initial days, Ajinkya has always fielded at gully. It's a difficult place, so we trust him there. First and second slip, if you practice well, you can get used to it. That's not the case at gully. We've identified it as an area we need to work on.
On resting for the limited-overs leg: Last time I took rest, it was difficult to handle. But my body is asking for it right now. The workload has been massive, I need rest. My body has taken a toll in the last couple of years. Right now is the perfect time to rest before the tour of South Africa.
Dinesh Chandimal: It was a really good series, apart from the second one (Test). We learnt a lot. Credit to the players and management for working hard. The guys executed their plans in the middle. Once Rangana was injured, everyone looked up to Angelo. Dhananjaya and Roshen batted really well in tough conditions against some great bowlers India have got. Dickwella played a totally different brand of cricket. Happy with the way we played today. Before I got here, I changed my technique. I'd worked hard at the nets with the batting coach. It's paid off for me. It was a tough time, the thing is, we aren't used to the pollution. That's why we struggled in the first two days. We told the boys, we need to forget about it and play the game. Today was a fantastic day, felt like Sri Lanka. Thanks to the Indians fans too, thanks to Virat and team, wish them well for the tour of South Africa.
Mustafa Moudi: "England from a commanding position at 176/4 with Root on crease, lost the game today, while Sri Lanka started the day on 31/3 ensured a draw losing just two wickets in the entire day. Test cricket, you beauty."
4.00pm That's that. Both teams have decided to call this off. Sri Lanka walk away with an honourable draw thanks to a superb unbeaten hundred from Dhananjaya de Silva. Credit where due to Roshen Silva too. Fell for a duck in the first innings, but showed immense character and resolve to fight through a tricky passage where one wicket would've helped India dig in to Sri Lanka's lower order.
With half the side dismissed and more than half of the day still left to play, India were right on top, but it didn't take long for Roshen, who came into this Test with 103 first-class games behind him, and it showed, his footwork nimble and his shot selection sure. He faced mostly spin before tea, and looked untroubled by it; his next assignment is a potentially testing period against the new ball.He walks away from his debut Test knowing he played a hand in securing a draw despite the first-innings disappointment. So the series will end with India taking it 1-0. India will look back at all the missed opportunities on the field, but will have to take their hats off and accept Sri Lanka played superbly on the final day.
Niroshan Dickwella: There was a big rough for Jadeja. Ashwin was bowling well too. I played my normal game, like I always do. We weren't on the backfoot. We were planning to chase this down if we got some good partnerships. Unfortunately Dhananjaya got injured, so that didn't help us. We wanted to bat normally till tea and then take it from there. If he would've been there, we would've gone for it. It wasn't really like a day-five pitch. There were some rough patches, so there were bowling there. It was difficult to hang on, that's why we were trying to play our shot.
Roshen Silva: I was under pressure, but I wanted to impress the selectors. I thought if we're going to stick around without playing shots, we can't score. They are a quality bowling attack, so I thought we should play shots against Jadeja and Ashwin. I told Dickwella and Dhananjaya that we should play our normal game and get some runs. It wasn't easy. Our batting coach said, 'if you can score runs here, the whole world will know you can score runs.' I think I grabbed my chance, hopefully I can do well in the future as well.
Substitute fielder out with drinks. Just a matter of time, you'd think.
Umpires having a word. Llong has a chat then with Ashwin before he continues
Their 1-0 series win over Sri Lanka helped India match Australia's record of nine consecutive series wins from 2005-08, while Dhananjaya de Silva surpassed Viv Richards to score the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India
With fitness being on agenda, India players have become better athletes, their ground fielding has improved, but nobody from the camp has been able to say why the same fielders seem to resemble non-stick cookware at slips
Dhananjaya de Silva and the debutant Roshen Silva were Sri Lanka's fifth-day heroes as they fought their way to a drawn third Test
Sri Lanka dropped him after throwing him in the firing line in South Africa. He has returned with the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India. Young talents like that need better nurturing
After having seen his team-mate Shami vomit on the field, the India opener was more understanding of the visitors' discomfort, but he only went as far as giving them a benefit of doubt