Sri Lanka 205 and 21 for 1 trail India 610 for 6 decl. (Kohli 213, Pujara 143, Vijay 128, Rohit 102*) by 384 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have a chat between overs © BCCI
Last July Virat Kohli had none of those. He now has five. Only Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are the Indians with more. Kohli waltzed to his fifth double-century to set up a declaration for India and asked the visitors to bat for nine overs before stumps on day three. Kohli also now has the most centuries for an India captain. Rohit Sharma ended his 13-month wait for first-class cricket and a four-year wait for a Test century with one in 160 balls. Kohli called the batsmen back in as soon as Rohit reached the mark, making it only the third time India have had four centurions in one Test innings.
The fatigue of having spent 176.1 overs in the field showed in how Sadeera Samarawickrama flashed at a wide ball and left alone a straight one right at the start of the Sri Lanka innings. At times, teams have to put in in the field those dreaded days of trying to delay the declaration, and how they go about it can tell a lot where they are at as a team. Sri Lanka unfortunately were all over the place: bowlers were not accurate, fielders not alert, and plans absent. There was a buffet out there, and all bar KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane tucked in.
The start of the day was indicative of how the rest of it would go. Cheteshwar Pujara, 121 at the start of the day, played out a watchful maiden – he took 23 balls to add to his overnight score – and Kohli started off with a single to long-on off his first ball. By the fourth over, it was clear Sri Lanka – understandably – were not there a 100% and that Kohli was in his hyper-active T20 mode.
Kohli pushed one to long-on, Suranga Lakmal lobbed a throw back to Rangana Herath, and Kohli stole the second as the ball skid under Herath’s slow comedown, even though it reached only as far as the point fielder. Fielders were under extreme pressure. Later, Herath had his pride hurt when Kohli pinched a single after hitting a firm drive straight to him at mid-off. Flustered, Herath threw anyway and conceded an overthrow. If Lakmal had reason to be upset, he didn’t help matters when he forgot to make an effort to a collect a throw the last ball of that over. Towards the end of the session, Niroshan Dickwella was busy applauding the wide slip for getting a hand to a late cut when Kohli called Pujara through for a single.
Pujara continued to play the old-fashioned way. Despite the slow start he didn’t look for a big shot to get going, clipping to leg for his first single of the morning. Kohli was more fluent as he kept driving either side of the wicket from wide outside off.
The seamers tried going round the wicket and Herath tried going over the wicket, but there was hardly a moment of concern for India. While Pujara and Kohli batted together on day three, the bat was beaten only five times, one of them a Dasun Shanaka yorker about seven minutes before lunch and Pujara seven short of 150, when the ball squeezed under the bat of Pujara, which had covered the line and had come down in time. It was just a reminder that even when batting seems easy for long periods, there are still ways to get out.
A minor disappointment for India was that Rahane fell for just 2, to a loose ball from Dilruwan Perera, which was small consolation for the offspinner who has had an ordinary Test. There was nowhere to hide for him as he had to keep coming back for spell after spell, going for 202 in 45 overs despite an improved showing on the third day.
Kohli and Rohit presented a milder version of their legendary one-day stands as they matched each other shot for shot in a 173-run stand for the fifth wicket. If Kohli welcomed Lakmal back by dancing down and hitting him over mid-off, Rohit dropped Dilruwan over mid-on. Kohli matched it with a six over long-on of his own, bringing up his and Dilrwuan’s 150. Rohit then raised two lofted boundaries off Herath. Rohit’s 11-ball wait to go from 49 to 50 just before tea brought his strike rate under 50, but Kohli, more used to these landmarks in Tests, saw no reason to slow down even as he approached his double hundred after tea.
Kohli fell for 213, but he gave Rohit all the time he needed to get to a hundred that might be important for his confidence going into the South Africa tour where he might be asked to bat more often than he has been at home. It is up for debate whether it is disrespectful to the opposition to wait for one man’s personal milestone, but it wasn’t as if India were going to run out of time or good weather to run Sri Lanka out a second time. It was apparent in Samarawickrama’s two-ball innings and Sri Lanka’s uncertain bid for survival in the remaining overs.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo