CHENNAI: When India started the day needing four wickets to dismiss Sri Lanka in their second essay, the task may have seemed simple. However, it was anything but. Led by Sonal Dinusha's valiant effort, he scored his third century of the series, Sri Lanka put up a defiant front, denying India a chance of finishing with a 2-0 scoreline. They batted through the day before the match was called a draw with the scoreboard reading 429/9 in 154 overs.
Though they walked away with 16 points in the World Test Championship, Shubman Gill was frustrated and understandably so. India, having opted for an off-spinning all-rounder in Saransh Jain over Kuldeep Yadav for the match, struggled to break through the left-hander who was the best batter of the series and looked toothless at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. "It gets very frustrating. We attacked a lot in the beginning. But I think as the match went on, the wicket got slower. It was not like the ball was not moving and when the ball was spinning, the wickets were not in play. It was not like the wicket was very flat," Gill said after the match.
On a pitch that was already slow and low, it did not help that Sri Lanka were playing for a draw and not pushing for a potential Indian collapse. They knew how the surface had been playing and decided to avoid the loss instead. "Unless you are playing a shot and looking to make a run, then it is difficult to take a wicket. We tried all that we could, and I don't think there was any lack of intensity or the efforts that we put in. The spinners bowled 50-60 overs on the trot for three days. Fielding for three days is not an easy task in these conditions. I would say 10 out of 10 for the effort and the intent. They also played really well," Gill said. "On Day 4, we thought we had created chances. If there was a little more pressure, the wickets would have come and then maybe the result would have been better. But as long as we still have a chance to qualify for the World Test Championship (final), it's fine," he added.
The skipper, meanwhile, defended the decision to enforce follow-on after securing a 213-run lead in the first innings. "Keeping the weather in mind, we could talk about these things (enforcing follow-on) only in hindsight. You take the best decision you can in the moment and something didn't go our way. But it was a brilliant game and I think Test cricket won today," he said.
In the larger scheme of things, India will be happy that they are still in contention for the WTC final but the road ahead is not easy. They have to win at least one match, if not both, in New Zealand before white washing Australia across five matches. "I still think we've got a pretty good chance to qualify for the WTC final. If we play the New Zealand series well and then, hopefully, by the time the Australia series comes, we just have to win the series. If we're in a situation where we just have to win the series, I think we'll be in a good position to qualify for the WTC," Gill explained.
SCOREBOARD: India 1st innings: 503/9 decl; Sri Lanka 1st Innings: 290; Sri Lanka 2nd Innings (O/N 229/6): Dinusha n.o 133, Dickwella lbw b Jain 6, Nuwantha c Jurel b Suthar 46, Jayasuriya c Jurel b Jadeja 2, Kumara c Jaiswal b Jadeja 12, Fernando n.o 0; Extras: (B-7, LB-8, NB-7, W-3) 25; Total: (For 9 wkt in 154 ovs): 429; FoW: 7-330, 8-355, 9-402; Bowling: Prasidh 18.3-3-57-1, Siraj 15-7-26-1, Suthar 41-7-121-3, Jain 37-4-98-1, Jadeja 38.3-4-94-3, Gill 2-0-8-0, Jaiswal 1-0-9-0, Jurel 1-0-1-0.