Another home series. Another lopsided win and the Indian juggernaut keeps on rolling. The Indians made light work of the Lankans and registered a comfortable victory, beating the islanders by 238 runs, completing yet another sweep against the opposition in home conditions, and cementing their status as undisputed kings at home. After winning the toss and batting first in what was only the third pink-ball test in India and only the 4th played by India, the hosts put on a competitive score of 252, courtesy of a brilliant and counter-attacking 92 from Shreyas Iyer. in response, the Lankans barely put up a fight in their innings, succumbing to the pace and guile of Bumrah and Shami, folding up for a meagre 109.
In the second innings, Team India once again piled on the agony, with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer getting half-centuries to ensure that the Indians reached 303-9 before declaring their innings. Set a mammoth target of 447 to win, Sri Lanka did put up a semblance of a fight with Kusal Mendis and captain Dimuth Karunaratne scoring a 50 and a 100 respectively, but the score was too huge, and the lack of support meant that the visitors were bundled out for a mere 208.
Here are the talking points from the game that Team India won yet again to clean-sweep win the Test series
1. Shreyas Iyer continues his purple patch
At this current juncture in time, it seems like Shreyas Iyer just cannot put a foot wrong as far as his cricket is concerned. He had an exceptional T20 series, being unbeaten in all the games. And it seems like he has carried that form into red-ball cricket as well. In this game, he was on song, playing the way he does and taking the team to a position of respectability.
In conditions where the ball was doing a lot, he took the attack to the bowlers, often charging down the track and getting value for his shots. He continued that in the second innings as well, with his aggressive approach forcing the Lanka bowlersto change plans from taking wickets to stopping the flow of runs. In getting his fifty in the second innings, he joined a select few groups of cricketers to score a fifty in both innings of a test match. If he manages to continue this run with the bat, he will definitely be undroppable in the coming series as well.
Image Credits: India Today
2. A memorable moment for the fans of Team India
It’s been almost two years since the dreaded COVID pandemic has taken away the fans from our game due to safety reasons. A large number of series were played in bio-bubbles, in front of empty stands and artificial sounds. Cricket was just not the same with the heart and soul of the game being absent from it. the fans are the essence of the sport and it is because of them that the game is where it is.
So it was a pleasing sight to see fans in attendance for both games. While it was 50% in Mohali, it was full capacity here in Bengaluru. Each shot, each run, and each wicket being vociferously cheered on by thousands of supporters who have longed to see their favourite players on the field. And the cricket on offer was equally good, among sure the fans went home happy and satisfied. Hopefully, this is the start of normalcy and we hope that very soon each cricket match is played in front of full crowds.
Image Credits: NDTV Sports
3. Quest for the WTC continues
Team India desperately needed this series’ win. In spite of playing the most number of tests than everyone else, and having the most points. India was still low in the WTC table since the table takes percentage points into consideration. This meant that India had to win almost all their test matches and hope that other results go their way. The series sweep against Lanka has done exactly that.
They have managed to climb up to 4th place in the points table. With Australia and Pakistan playing out a draw in the first test, and the second test also going the same way based on the number of days there, it seems like things are looking positive for India if they want to get into that final once again.
Joy Barma
26 Jul 2022Thank you for this blog. this is a very informative and useful blog about cricket.