The second and final Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo ended in a hard-fought draw on Thursday. India won the two-match series 1-0 after their convincing win in Galle. The match went right down the wire and Sri Lanka batted brilliantly on the fifth day to ensure that it ended in a draw. India won the toss and batted first. The openers fell cheaply but Devdutt Padikka continued his terrific form aa he scored 117 while Dhruv Jurel made unbeaten 115. Shubman Gill made 50 and Rishabh Pant contributed a brisk 63. Asitha Fernando took four wickets for Sri Lanka as the visitors declared at 503 for 9.
Sri Lanka struggled with the bat as they were bowled out for 290 and ended up falling short of the follow on mark. Sonal Dinusha scored 103 with Pasindu Sooriyabandara scoring 80. India enforced the follow-on after having a 213-run lead. In their second innings Sri Lanka showed real fight. Sooriyabandara scored 92 and Kamindu Mendis 55 as the duo erased the lead on the fourth day. On the final day Sonal Dinusha stood firm and finished unbeaten on 133 as Sri Lanka reached 429 for 9. Both the teams shook hands with only three wickets falling on the last day as the match ended in a Draw. Indian spinners Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets each but the visitors could not force a result. Dinusha was named Player of the Match for his twin centuries (103 and 133 not out) in the match.
Devdutt Padikkal Wins Player of the Series Award After Back to Back Centuries
Indian left hand batter Devdutt Padikkal won the Player of the Series for his outstanding batting across both Tests. The left-hander finished with 328 runs and provided India with consistency and solidity at the top of the order. He has been in fine form throughout the entire tour including the century in the warm up match. In the first Test at Galle he scored a century that set up India’s big win. In Colombo he smashed another hundred scoring 117 off 193 balls and helped the visitors post 503 for 9 declared. He ended as the second highest run getter in this series behind Sonal Dinusha.
Padikkal got his spot in the playing XI after an injury to Sai Sudharsan and the left hander has managed to grab it with both hands. In post-match comments he spoke about the similar nature of the two pitches and how batters improved as the series progressed. He also spoke about the satisfaction of contributing to a series win, even if the second Test ended in a draw. Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha produced a remarkable series including 50-plus scores in all four innings and twin centuries in Colombo and he was the player of the match in the second Test as Sri Lanka managed to get a draw.
