Ind vs SL 2nd Test
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Virat Kohli has been the forefront of Indian batting lineup from the past 4-5 years. After Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from captaincy, Virat Kohli took up the challenge as the captain for all formats of the game; Test, ODI, and T2Oi. Though he was criticized for his behavior on the exit of Kumble as Indian National Cricket Team coach, the nation once again stood behind him when he backed former skipper Dhoni.
The conclusion of the 2nd Test with Sri Lanka at Nagpur sent warnings for the Proteas, the South African Cricket Team. Before the commencement of the test series with Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli said, ‘we don’t have much time for our tour against South Africa. We would utilize this series as a practice for our upcoming series.’ Many cricket pundits and analysts pointed a finger at Kohli’s attitude and arrogance. The numbers supporting the critics increased after the 1st innings in the 1st test at Eden Gardens.
But least they know, what was about to come. India came back from a losing position to almost winning the first test. If it was not for the bad light and loss of play due to rain, Sri Lanka would have been rattled fair and square in the Eden Gardens.
The 2nd Test Match in Nagpur…
Day 1
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bat first in the 2nd test. Though the pitch lacked the fresh tinge of green as the Eden Wicket, the pitch had its highs and lows. Without much support from the pitch, the Indian Spinner wrecked the Sri Lankan batting all through their innings. Sri Lanka ended up scoring 205/10 with their captain Chandimal scoring 57. The spin-duo, Ashwin, and Jadeja who failed to pick even one wicket in the first test shared 7 wickets among them. Ashwin took 4 wickets, while Jadeja and Ishant shared 3 each. The first day ended with Sri Lanka innings at 205/10 and India at 11/1 in their first innings, after KL Rahul was gone cheaply.
Day 2
Little did the visitors know what was to follow on the Day 2 and Day 3 of the test. Murali Vijay who is making a comeback with this match, after an 8-month wrist-injury rest made big on the day it most counted. Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs before Vijay, who scored 128 runs were caught by Perera at the short-fine leg in Herath’s bowling. The sorrows only intensified for the Sri Lankan bowlers with Kohli came out to the middle. The Indian captain quickly reached his half-century before the end of the Day 2 play with Pujara batting on 121 keeping India in a strong position at 312/2.
Day 3
Just 10-minutes before the lunch on the third day, Shanaka got bowled Pujara after getting through his defense. Pujara was out for a well-made 143, after a 183-run partnership with Kohli. Rahane who joined Kohli in the middle was out for 2 runs. Rohit Sharma, who has been desperately waiting to cement his place in the test team grabbed the opportunity. While Kohli was in sublime touch, Rohit with his class outwitted the Sri Lankan bowlers. Kohli went to score his 5th double century as captain and equalled the record of Brain Lara for most number of double centuries as a captain. Virat Kohli became the first captain to smash 10 centuries in one calendar year. After reaching his double century, Virat tried to accelerate the scoring rate. In doing so, he was holed out to Thirimanne who judged the catch to perfection. Kohli got out after scoring 213 runs. India declared at 610/6 after Rohit Sharma (102) reached his century. The Sri Lanka batsman needed to bad out a fiery spell from Ishant and Umesh and ended up at 21/1.In total, he scored 51 international centuries with his latest double-ton.
Day 4
Before the day 4 began, no one was worried whether Sri Lanka will manage the Draw the test or will end up losing. The questions were; How many over will Sri Lankan batsman defend? The victory of India was almost inevitable looking the batting display of the Sri Lankan batsman. Without disappointing the analysts, the Lankans were 5 down for 72, and further slipped to 8 for 107. It was for the 9th wicket, there was some resilience shown by Sri Lanka. Captain Chandimal and bowler Lakmal managed to add a 58-run partnership before Chandimal holed out at the long-on boundary. Soon the score from 165/9 changed to 166/10 after Ashwin managed to beat the outside edge of Gamage’s bat and clip one bail on the way. Though Ashwin picked another 4-wickets in this innings, Ishant’s bowling was top notch. Ishant, Umesh, and Jadeja shared 2 wickets each of the remaining 6 wickets.
Man of the Match and Final Scores:
Everyone knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time and the margin by which India would win. India won the 2nd test match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur by an Innings and 239 runs. Virat Kohli was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ for his match-defining innings of 213 runs.
Toss: Sri Lanka (Chose to bat first)
Sri Lanka 1st Innings: 205/10 (Chandimal 57, Karunaratne 51, Ashwin 4/67)
India 1st Innings: 610/6d (Kohli 213, Pujara 143, Perera 3/202)
Sri Lanka 2nd Innings: 166/10 (Chandimal 61, Thirimanne 23, Ashwin 4/63)
Result: India won by an innings and 239 Runs
36-Year-Old record broken!
Ashwin became the fastest bowler to claim 300 wickets in 54 Tests, after breaking the record previously set by All-time Legend, Dennis Lillie who took 300 wickets in 56 Tests. Ashwin who started the match at 292 International Test wickets took 4 wickets in each of the innings to take the total tally to 300 test wickets. Speaking on his 300th Test wicket, Ashwin said, ‘I haven’t been bowling the carom ball lately. From the past 2 years, I haven’t bowled many carom balls. I felt let me give it a try this time. And it worked for me.’ PLS Gamage was his 300th scalp, who was bowled after the ball beat his edge.
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