Right then, that is all we have from this Test match. India have dominated this Test match and they will be hoping to put another strong performance in the second Test which will be a day-night affair. That Test will start at 2.00 pm IST (8.30 am GMT) on Saturday, March 12 at Bengaluru. As you know our coverage will start well in advance. So do join us for the same. Till then, goodbye and cheers!
Ravindra Jadeja is the Player of the Match. He says that Mohali is his lucky ground and whenever he comes to Mohali, he gets positive vibes. On being asked about his batting, he states that he wanted to build a partnership with Pant, but he was standing at the other end and enjoying his batting. Informs that he does not know anything about stats but he is happy to score runs and pick up wickets, which gives him some confidence. States that he has done nothing different, he just backed his instincts, he looks to keep things simple. Concludes by saying that he has never played with the pink ball before, but he will practice before the game and he is sure he will be comfortable with the ball.
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of India, says that it was a great performance and they have ticked all the boxes and he is happy with the performance. He mentions that he did not think that it will be a hree days Test match because the pitch was good to bat on but credits his bowlers for applying pressure and they were great. He states that these are good signs for Indian cricket and it was a landmark Test match for Virat. He mentions that they first wanted to win this Test match and it is heartening to see all big performances. He adds that they wanted to give Jayant some overs and give him some confidence as he is the third spinner in the team. He says that it has been a great performance by Jadeja and he mentions that the pink-ball Test match will be a big challenge and looking forward to it. He mentions that it will be a challenge as it is their only second pink-ball Test match at home and says that he is looking forward to how the pitch behaves there and then take it from there.
Dimuth Karunaratne, the skipper of Sri Lanka, says that the batters need to put their hands up, it was easy to bat on this track, but they had to get a big score. Mentions that they thought the pitch was going to be up and down and cracks would open and that's why they played three seamers, but they should have still bowled better and restricted India. Informs that they were either very defensive or they were aggressive, but they need to rotate the strike and bat better. Concludes that, the batters will have to step up and score big, and they will come back stronger in the next game.
Stay tuned for the presentation.
Ravichandran Ashwin is down for a chat. On being asked about Jadeja's batting, he says that Jadeja has come a really long way in the last four-five years, and he thinks that Jadeja's batting has gone one notch higher! States that Jadeja and he realized that Jayant has not bowled a lot and he being the third spinner he had to get a few overs in the middle. Informs that he wanted to bat well, and since he had four weeks off he did change a few things in his batting and he was trying to apply those in this match, but he was staying positive. Adds that the surface was a good one, Jadeja and he were trying hard to get wickets, but it was tough to get the batsmen out when they were very defensive and says that they cannot keep Bumrah and Shami out of it, they bowled well and put pressure!
Sri Lanka have a lot to ponder about, right from their tactics to go with only one frontline spinner on this track and their execution of skills in the middle. They were laid low by the injury to Lahiru Kumara on the first day of the Test itself and eventually gave away 574 runs with the ball. It was always going to be tough after that but being a subcontinent team Lankans were expected to play spin better and show some application. However, they were quite poor with the bat in both the innings and Nissanka in the first innings and Dickwella in the second innings were only the two batters who showed some resilience out there. They need their senior batters like Angelo Mathews and skipper, Dimuth Karunaratne to step up otherwise another tough Test awaits them in a couple of days' time.
A classical Indian Test victory at home. India piling on a big score in the first innings and then putting the opposition team under pressure with spin playing the major role. The game was probably over in the first session of Day 3 when India picked up seven wickets to demolish any hopes Sri Lanka had coming into Day 3. Then, the caravan continued and with six more wickets in the final session, India bowled out Sri Lanka twice in this Test match with ease. Ashwin and Jadeja were brilliant with the ball as usual but there were important contributions by the seamers and that makes this bowling performance even sweeter. The foundation was laid by the batting unit earlier in the game with Jadeja notching up his career-best score and almost all other batters making decent contributions. Overall, India have done what everyone expects them to do in home conditions and they will be looking to continue their dominance in the second Test match.
India have demolished Sri Lanka by a huge margin of an innings and 222 runs in this first Test match and Rohit Sharma begins his Test captaincy journey with a commanding victory. India were always expected to win this Test match but the sheer dominance and the fact that they clinched this inside three days is quite an achievement. If you have seen at least some part of this game in the last two days, you will know that Sir Jadeja has been a standout performer in this Test match. He has taken 9 wickets in this Test match and scored a mammoth 175 with the bat. Overall, India have outplayed Sri Lanka in all facets of the game and Sri Lanka need to be much better in the second Test if they want to challenge India in that Test match.
OUT! CAUGHT! Ravichandran Ashwin finishes things off! He grabs his fourth wicket! A fuller ball, around middle. Lahiru Kumara stays in his crease and tries to go over long off, but the ball goes off the outer half of the bat towards mid off. Mohammed Shami runs forward and takes an easy catch. India win by an innings and 222 runs.
Outside off, blocked out.
In the air...but safe! A loopy ball, fuller in length. Lahiru Kumara leans and lifts it towards mid on, but the ball falls just short of Jasprit Bumrah there!
Down the leg side, full ball. Niroshan Dickwella sweeps it towards fine leg for a single.
Slower through the air, full and around middle. Niroshan Dickwella defends it out.
Loopy ball, full, around off. Niroshan Dickwella defends it out.
FOUR! Lahiru Kumara gets off the mark in style! Tad shorter, around middle. Lahiru Kumara lifts it over mid on for a boundary!
Tosses it up, around off. Lahiru Kumara defends it out again.
Fuller delivery, outside off. Lahiru Kumara blocks it out towards point.
Outside off, fuller ball. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it past cover for a single. Lahiru Kumara will be on strike! Fifty for Niroshan Dickwella! It has been a good inning from the wicket-keeper batter.
Around middle and leg, fuller ball. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it towards mid-wicket.
Quicker, on middle, fuller ball. Niroshan Dickwella steps down the pitch and pushes it back to the bowler.
Loopy delivery, full, around off. Lahiru Kumara blocks it out. He survives the full over!
Loopy again, full, around off. Lahiru Kumara defends it out watchfully.
Slower through the air, full, on middle. Lahiru Kumara blocks it out.
Full again, on middle and leg. Lahiru Kumara defends and gets an outside edge past the first slip fielder.
Tad quicker, full again, on middle. Lahiru Kumara blocks it out.
Loopy ball, around middle. Lahiru Kumara leans and defends it out.
Fuller ball, around off. Niroshan Dickwella steps down and looks to heave this over the leg side, but he gets an inside edge onto his pads.
Tad fuller, spinning in around the leg pole. Niroshan Dickwella goes for the reverse-sweep but misses.
Full again, on middle. Niroshan Dickwella sweeps it towards square leg. No run there!
Fuller, quick again, outside off. Niroshan Dickwella steps down and looks to go over cover but misses and gets hit on his back pad.
Loopy ball, full, on middle. Niroshan Dickwella works it towards square leg.
Quicker now, drifting it in, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it towards mid off.
Shorter now, around middle. Lahiru Kumara defends it out.
Fuller in length, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella steps down and knocks it down to mid on. He scampers through to the other end, while Lahiru Kumara is struggling to get to his end, but he makes it at the end. Single taken!
Outside off, shorter now. Niroshan Dickwella taps it towards point.
Full again, around middle and leg. Niroshan Dickwella looks to sweep this but misses and gets hit on the pads. There is an appeal for LBW, but the umpire is unmoved!
Loopy again, around off. Niroshan Dickwella drives it towards long off.
Slower through the air, outside off, fuller ball. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it towards cover.
Ravichandran Ashwin (18-4-45-3) is back into the attack.
Loopy ball, around off. Lahiru Kumara leans and defends it out.
Quick, full again, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella steps down and eases it to long on for a single.
Fuller, around off. Niroshan Dickwella comes forward and defends it out.
Another fuller ball, arud middle. Niroshan Dickwella tries to reverse-sweep this one, but misses this time.
Fuller again, quicker now on middle. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it towards mid-wicket.
Fuller ball, on middle. Niroshan Dickwella reverse-sweeps this towards cover.
Lahiru Kumara is the last man in.
OUT! LBW! Mohammed Shami strikes now! India are just one wicket away now! A length ball, nipping back in on middle. Vishwa Fernando stays in his crease and tries to flick this but he misses and gets rapped on the pads. An appeal for LBW, and the umpire raises his finger immediately. Vishwa Fernando opts for a review! No bat involved there and the Ball Tracker shows three reds! Vishwa Fernando has to walk back.
Full again, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella taps it past mid off for a single.
FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries! Fuller again, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella presents the full face of the bat and drives it past mid on for a boundary.
FOUR! Easy pickings! Tad fuller, darting it on the pads. Niroshan Dickwella flicks it towards deep square leg for a boundary.
On a length outside off. Niroshan Dickwella taps it towards point.
Review! India have taken a review for LBW against Niroshan Dickwella! The replays roll in and the UltraEdge shows that there is a bat involved there. So Niroshan Dickwella will continue and India lose their review.
An appeal for LBW, but not given! A length ball, nipping back in, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella tries to push this away, but he gets a slight inside edge on to his pads. Shami thinks he has got his man and Rohit Sharma opts for a review! The replay rolls in and UltraEdge confirms the same, there was bat involved in that! India lose another review!
Fuller now, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella sweeps this towards short fine for a quick single.
Shorter now, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella taps it to mid-wicket again.
Fuller again, quicker one around middle. Niroshan Dickwella steps down the pitch and pushes it towards mid-wicket.
Fuller ball, on middle. Niroshan Dickwella defends it out.
FOU! Top shot! Fuller ball, around middle. Niroshan Dickwella steps down and heaves it towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary.
NOT OUT! A beauty by Ravindra Jadeja! Tad fuller, spinning in sharply. Niroshan Dickwella stays in his crease and tries to cut this away, but the ball brushes off his pad and goes towards Pant. A huge appeal for caught behind! The umpire says no! India opts for a review! The replay rolls in and UltraEdge shows no bat involved there! Ball Tracker shows that the impact is outside the line. Niroshan Dickwella survies!
DRINKS! So India are just two wickets away from sealing this game and it looks just a matter of time before India wraps this game up. It has been another disappointing performance from Sri Lanka with the bat and Niroshan Dickwella will be just hoping to add some runs to his Test kitty here before the inevitable happens. Jadeja has been brilliant in these innings too and it will be interesting to see if he can finish with 10 wickets in this game.
Shami goes for a short delivery now around leg. Vishwa Fernando ducks under it.
Goes fuller on off. Vishwa Fernando keeps it out.
Back of a length, on off. Vishwa Fernando blocks it out.
On a length, on off. Vishwa Fernando blocks it towards the off side.
A length delivery, on off. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it to mid off for a single.
Back of a length, around off. Niroshan Dickwella steers it towards the third man region for a couple.
Vishwa Fernando is the new man in.
OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! The angle from 'round the wicket does the trick here and the resistance from Lasith Embuldeniya comes to an end. This is flatter and quicker around off. Lasith Embuldeniya is stuck on his crease to this fuller ball as he tries to block this one, but the ball catches the outside edge of his blade. The ball goes back to Pant and he takes a fine catch. Ravindra Jadeja grabs his fourth wicket of the innings and ninth wicket of this match! So Just two wickets away India now from wrapping this Test match on Day 3!
This is down the leg side and flatter. Lasith Embuldeniya looks to clip it but misses.
On middle and leg. Lasith Embuldeniya works it towards the leg side.
Goes slightly shorter on off. Lasith Embuldeniya goes back this time and blocks it out.
Goes 'round the wicket on off. Lasith Embuldeniya defends it quite well.
Slower in the air at 81.3 kph, on off. Lasith Embuldeniya blocks this off the front foot.
Back of a length, around off. Niroshan Dickwella punches it to covers off the back foot.
On a length and angling into middle this time. Niroshan Dickwella works it towards mid-wicket.
FOUR! Third boundary and this is a poor delivery by Shami. On the pads and Niroshan Dickwella just tucks it fine towards the long leg fence for a boundary.
FOUR! These boundaries will give much-needed confidence to Niroshan Dickwella! A good-length delivery and a bit wide this time. Niroshan Dickwella opens the face of his blade and guides it through the gully region for a boundary.
On a length and down the leg side this time. Niroshan Dickwella looks to clip it away but misses. It goes back to Pant behind the stumps.
FOUR! Nicely played, good timing this time! A length delivery angling into off from 'round the wicket. Niroshan Dickwella leans forward and drives it crisply through covers for a boundary.
Mohammed Shami (5-1-24-1) comes back to bowl.
Slower in the air, around off. Lasith Embuldeniya defends it towards the off side.
A fullish delivery on middle. Niroshan Dickwella pushes it to long on for a single.
Goes slightly quicker this time, on off. Niroshan Dickwella gets forward to block it.
Loopy delivery on off. Niroshan Dickwella works it towards the leg side as he skips down the track.
Tossed up around off. Niroshan Dickwella blocks it out.
A flatter delivery turning into middle and leg. Niroshan Dickwella looks to defend it but the ball hits his pads and goes towards the leg side.
Another loopy delivery, on off. Lasith Embuldeniya is solid on his front foot defence.
Flighted delivery this time, around off. Lasith Embuldeniya gets well forward and defends it.
On middle and quicker this time. Niroshan Dickwella works it towards mid-wicket for a single.
Tossed up nicely on off. Niroshan Dickwella blocks it out.
Loopy delivery, around off. Niroshan Dickwella looks to sweep but the ball turns and bounces and takes Paant by surprise as he manages to stop it awkwardly.
A flatter delivery and slightly shorter in length, on off. Niroshan Dickwella blocks it out.
Quicker now, coming back in, on middle. Lasith Embuldeniya hangs back and tries to defend but the ball goes off the outside edge away from point.
In the air.. but safe! A fuller ball, around middle. Lasith Embuldeniya goes for the slog-sweep but he miscues his shot towards mid on who collects it on the bounce!
Tad fuller, around off. Lasith Embuldeniya pushes it towards cover.
Another fuller ball, around off, turning it in. Lasith Embuldeniya lunges to block this but the ball goes off the inside edge towards fine leg.
Fuller ball, turning it in on middle. Lasith Embuldeniya leans to defend but gets an inside edge onto his pads.
Outside off, fuller ball. Lasith Embuldeniya taps it towards point.
Much fuller now and slower, on middle, full in length. Niroshan Dickwella blocks it out.