2nd Test: Dinusha’s unbeaten 133 helps Sri Lanka seal hard-fought draw against India 

Colombo, Aug 27 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Sonal Dinusha capped a defining series with a second-innings masterclass in resolve and patience by hitting a marathon unbeaten 133 off 264 balls to help Sri Lanka seal a hard-fought draw against India in the second Test at the SSC Ground on Thursday. The result also meant that India won the two-game series 1-0.

Forced to follow-on after making 290 in the first innings and starting Day Five with a slender 16-run lead, Dinusha’s rearguard and resilient efforts meant Sri Lanka reached 429/9 in 154 overs before declaring late in the final session. Keshara Nuwantha also showed his abilities with the bat, as did the tail-enders. The hosts being steely resilient with the bat meant only three wickets fell on the final day of the game and series.

In the morning, resuming with a precarious 16-run lead on a pitch offering very little help to the bowlers, Sri Lanka added 100 unbroken runs in 31.2 overs of the first session, as Dinusha and Nuwantha walked back to a standing ovation from the hosts’ dressing room.

What looked like a simple task for India to take four remaining wickets developed into a full-blown headache. Opting for defensive, spread-out fields without close-in catchers, India allowed Dinusha and Nuwantha to rotate the strike and settle into an easy rhythm.

Consequently, not a single Indian bowler managed to string together a consistently threatening over, with the seamers mostly bowling away from the stumps.

Dinusha anchored the fightback with a flawless knock laced with only two boundaries and continued his exceptional run to register his fourth consecutive 50-plus score of the series. He was wonderful in playing the spinners with deft sweeps and driving cleanly through the off-side. It also earned left-handed batter Dinusha a place in an elite group of batters to achieve fifty or more in each of their first four Test innings against India.

At the other end, Nuwantha looked increasingly assured against both pace and spin, with drive being his go-to shot. He negotiated the second new ball spells from Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna with soft hands and admirable patience.

India’s frustration boiled over in the 90th over when Siraj burned a review on a desperate caught-behind appeal against Nuwantha, only for the DRS to reveal the bat had merely hit the turf. In an eventful final over, Nuwantha survived a final scare on the stroke of lunch when on-field umpire Ahsan Raza adjudged him LBW off Ravindra Jadeja.

He immediately reviewed the decision, and DRS confirmed the delivery was sliding comfortably down leg, as Sri Lanka walked off as the happier side at lunch. Though Sri Lanka added only 54 runs in the second session, they still managed to keep India at bay, as Dinusha got his second standing ovation of the day from the Sri Lankan dressing room.

India began on a high as Suthar took out a patient Nuwantha by having him caught at second slip and breaking the 112-run partnership. Dinusha kept going with immense patience – combining defensive discipline with calculated strokeplay, especially by showcasing various types of sweep shots in his repertoire.

He found capable support in Kumara, who mounted a stoic blockathon to frustrate the weary Indian attack. Though Suthar broke through early in the stretch, India didn’t find many clear-cut opportunities to get more scalps and end Sri Lanka’s defiant innings.

Veteran left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja provided the second breakthrough of the session when he removed Prabath Jayasuriya for two after having him caught at slip. But India’s hopes of quickly mopping up the tail were stymied by Kumara, who absorbed 56 deliveries for his unbeaten knock.

He survived a close run-out chance when a wide throw from Prasidh Krishna allowed him to dive back safely, while also edging past a vacant second slip off Saransh Jain. At the other end, Dinusha masterfully managed the strike and capitalised on any rare boundary offerings.

The left-hander repeatedly deployed the reverse sweep against Jain and Jadeja to break the pressure, while late-cutting and paddling with precision to be on the cusp of getting another three-figure score in the series.

Though India rotated their bowling options well and had close-in fielders, they were rendered ineffective by a combination of solid defensive cricket led by Dinusha and a pitch offering very little help till tea break arrived.

The final session began with Dinusha reaching his second century of the match off the very first ball. Clipping a full delivery from Mohammed Siraj into the mid-wicket pocket for a couple, Dinusha took off his helmet and raised his bat to soak in the applause for his third hundred of the series.

The landmark made him only the third Sri Lankan to score three centuries in a two-match Test series after Aravinda de Silva and Kumar Sangakkara, and the eighth man from his country to hit twin tons in a Test. India’s tiring attack struggled to break down Sri Lanka’s lower-order defiance throughout the final session.

Siraj was limited in his bowling overs due to a physical niggle, while Jadeja also laboured through discomfort. With all that in mind, Sri Lanka’s tail dug in to completely extinguish India’s victory hopes. Lahiru Kumara grounded it out for a stoic 12 off 90 balls before falling to Jadeja, after being caught brilliantly by Jaiswal at short leg.

Dinusha accelerated by launching both Jadeja and Gill over deep mid-wicket for a brace of sixes before striking successive boundaries off Jaiswal’s leg-spin, as he put on 27 runs for a last-wicket stand with Asitha Fernando, who was unbeaten on 0, but more importantly played 24 balls.

By the time hands were shaken and a draw was called, Dinusha took his series tally to 419 runs at an average of 139.66. The Sri Lankan dressing room gave the youngster a standing ovation for the third time in the day, with Indian players offering warm congratulations for a heroic marathon effort that saved the Test for the hosts after they were in danger of losing it quickly.

Brief scores:

India 503/9 dec in 138 overs drew with Sri Lanka 290 and (f/o) 429/9 in 154 overs (Sonal Dinusha 133 not out, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Manav Suthar 3-105, Ravindra Jadeja 3-94)

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