India captain Shubman Gill remains hopeful that his side can still reach the World Test Championship final despite being denied a series sweep by Sri Lanka on Thursday.
India appeared well placed to complete a 2-0 sweep but Sri Lanka held on for a draw after a stirring rearguard action led by middle-order batter Sonal Dinusha.
India, currently fifth in the WTC standings, travel to New Zealand for two tests later this year before hosting Australia in a blockbuster five-match series early in 2027.
“We are going to New Zealand in November, that will be a good series for us, and then we’ve got a good home series coming,” Gill said at the presentation ceremony.
“If we have a good New Zealand series, and as long as we have a chance, we’ll keep believing. Hopefully we’ll make it to the WTC final.”
India have little margin for error in their bid to finish in the top-two of the WTC standings. Of their remaining seven Tests, they must win at least six to control their destiny.
After declaring their first innings on 503-9, India bowled Sri Lanka out for 290 and enforced the follow-on.
However, their bowlers were unable to replicate that effectiveness in the second innings and they had to settle for a draw after Dinusha struck his second hundred of the match.
“In hindsight, you can say ‘was the follow-on a right decision?’ Keeping the weather in mind, we were not sure if there would be a full day of play on day five,” Gill said.
“You can talk about these things in hindsight but when you are in that moment, you try and take the best decision that you can. Some of the things didn’t go our way, but it was a brilliant game and I think Test cricket won today.”
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva was pleased with the performances of batters Dinusha and Pasindu Sooriyabandara, as well as all-rounder Keshara Nuwantha.
“It’s all about finding the talent for the future of Sri Lanka cricket,” De Silva said. “I thank the selectors and the coach, who gave me that opportunity to get the youngsters in and let them really go there and do the job for the country.”
Sri Lanka resumed the final day of the rain-plagued match just 16 ahead and with only four wickets in hand.
They needed to bat out of their skin to save the test match, and Dinusha and Nuwantha (46) did exactly that, denying India success throughout the morning session.
Dinusha’s maiden Test hundred had been the bedrock of Sri Lanka’s first-innings total of 290, and the 25-year-old followed it up with his fourth successive score of 50 or more to keep his side alive in the contest
Gill rotated his bowlers and continually adjusted his field settings but nothing appeared capable of unsettling Dinusha, who batted with tremendous discipline.
Gill stressed that India tried all they could in the match.
“We fielded for about 250 overs, for three days consecutively, and we did everything we could, but they played really well,” said the India captain.
“Their batters showed a lot of skill and they had a little bit of luck going their way.
“A lot of positives for us, including learning from the opposition. They were under a lot of pressure and the way they came back was tremendous to see.”
India top-order batter Devdutt Padikkal was adjudged player of the series for his hundreds in Galle and Colombo.
Source: Khaleej Times