India hand Sri Lanka their inevitable fate, win Test series 2-0

The Sri Lankan fightback, conspicuous by its absence from the time the Islanders set foot in India for the T20I and Test series, finally arrived on the third day of the second Test. But buried so deep in the abyss were the tourists, all it did was delay the inevitable as a domineering India completed a thumping victory and a whitewash.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne struck a measured century (107, 174b, 226m, 15x4) and forged two fine partnerships with Kusal Mendis (54, 60b, 8x4) and Niroshan Dickwella (12, 39b) to make the Indians toil in the summer afternoon sun at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The hosts' bowlers, one of the finest attacks in the world and having seen such resistances, didn’t get frustrated. Well aware the target of 447 runs was impossible to achieve on a challenging pitch, they stuck to the basics and forced the Lankans into committing errors, knocking them out for 208 in 59.3 overs with about 30 minutes left for dinner.

Karunaratne, one of the senior players in a Lankan side undergoing massive transition, deserves plenty of plaudits for scoring a brilliant 14th Test century. When he began the day in the company of Kusal Mendis with Sri Lanka on 28/1, the talk was all about how soon will the Indians pack them off. In the three previous innings as well as in the three T20Is, they’ve found the Indian bowling too hot to contend with.

They’ve been unable to defend for a sustained period of time and whenever they have tried to counter-attack, they’ve lost wickets in a heap. They have simply allowed the Indian bowlers to run rings around them. And when this Indian attack is on top, they can be an unstoppable force. Raw pace, swing, seam, spin….they have it all.

Karunaratne and Mendis, a naturally aggressive player, found the answers, albeit belatedly. They began on an aggressive note, not allowing Jasprit Bumrah (3/23) and R Ashwin (4/55) to settle down into any sort of rhythm. They cracked a boundary every over, in fact, found nine of them in the opening half hour to show the Indians that they were not going to bow down without a fight.

The Indians stayed patient though. They knew all they needed was one wicket for the floodgates to open. They kept bowling attacking lines and lengths, teasing and testing Karunaratne and Mendis to come at them. Mendis, who can’t resist himself from playing the big shots when it’s in his range, was the first to fall for the bait. Ashwin tossed it up and Mendis stepped down but missed the flight, leaving Rishabh Pant with an easy stumping. Very quickly Sri Lanka slipped to 105/4 and the Indian camp began to remove the champagne from the ice.

Karunaratne, however, had his own party plans. He single-handedly defied the Indians with a wonderful mix of caution and aggression. He motored on smoothly despite the destruction at the other end. The Indians tried to apply pressure on the southpaw when he was in his 90s but Karunaratne withstood it all like a warrior before flicking a boundary to bring up a deserved 14th Test century.

Part of the mission accomplished, Karunaratne’s focus wavered post the ton. Bumrah, brilliant all match with his sizzling line and length, beat the defence of Karunaratne with a peach. Thereafter there were no more delays as the Indians mopped up the tail quickly to bring a glorious end to their home season and a perfect start to Rohit Sharma's era.

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