Visitors Sri Lanka, led by Dinesh Chandimal, produced some exceptional display of batting in the final day of the 3rd and the final Test against India at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi to eke out a draw. India on the back of an innings victory in Nagpur clinched the series by a 1-0 margin. This was their 9th Test series victory on the trot but their real test will be during the Test series in South Africa starting from 5th January 2018.
The home team dominated the match for the majority of the match, but a too conservative declaration and an unimpressive attitude in the field cost them badly as Sri Lanka applied themselves brilliantly and managed to salvage a draw. It should be a great result from Sri Lanka’s point of view especially after losing 3-0 to India in back in July.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal scored a magnificent century in the 1st innings which ensured Sri Lanka avoided the follow-on and in the 2nd innings, it was the brilliance from the bat of youngster Dhananjaya de Silva which helped Sri Lanka save the game. Debutant Roshen Silva was pretty impressive and remained unbeaten on 74 of 154 deliveries.
Chandimal was pretty happy with the way Sri Lanka fought in the series and barring their mediocre showing in the 2nd Test in Nagpur they put up some resistance in the Eden Gardens and at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
This is what Dinesh Chandimal had to say in the post-match presentation
It was a really good series. Apart from the second game, we played some good cricket. Credit to the players and management. The most important thing was to execute the plans. Credit to the players. We got Rangana and Angelo, the most experienced players in our team. When Angelo performs well, the youngsters will watch him how to go about it. Credit to Dhananjaya and Roshen Silva in tough conditions against great bowlers. I’ve done a lot of hard work. I’ve made changes in my technique, and have worked with the batting coach. It was a tough time. In Sri Lanka, we aren’t used to this (talking about air quality), so we struggled for the first two days. Today is a fantastic day. Feels like Sri Lanka. Thanks to Indian fans for supporting us. Thanks to Virat and team, they’re really good. Wish them well for South Africa.
