Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sonal Dinusha played an impressive innings, scoring a fighting century that helped Sri Lanka secure a draw in the second Test match on Thursday. Despite this, India emerged as the winner of the two-match series with a 1-0 victory.
This match marked Dinusha’s second century, having previously scored 103 runs in the first innings. India, batting first after winning the toss, declared their innings at a hefty 503 runs for 9 wickets, with Devdutt Padikkal contributing 117 runs and Druv Jurel adding 115.
In response, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 290 runs in their first innings, placing them 213 runs behind India. For their second innings, Sri Lanka declared at 429 for 9, leading by 216 runs with only 17 overs left in the day. Dinusha ended his knock unbeaten on 133 runs, becoming only the third player in history to score centuries in both innings after following on, joining the ranks of India’s Vijay Hazare and Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower.
Reflecting on the match, Indian captain Shubman Gill praised the Sri Lankan team, acknowledging their skill and a bit of luck that helped them. He expressed confidence that his team had put in their best effort.
Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva noted the positive outcome of the match. He highlighted the promising performances of younger players like Dinusha and Pasindu Sooriyabandara in a series where several senior players were sidelined due to injuries.
“It’s about finding future talent for Sri Lanka cricket,” de Silva said. He added that it’s a good challenge for the experienced players to fight for their spots again.
Sri Lanka returned to the field hoping to draw the match, starting their second innings in a tricky position with four wickets in hand. Dinusha managed to hold the innings together, with support from No. 8 Keshara Nuwantha, who scored 46 runs off 150 balls, and No. 10 Lahiru Kumara, who added 12 runs off 90 balls. Dinusha batted for exactly seven hours, facing 264 deliveries and hitting two sixes and eight fours.
For his outstanding performance, Dinusha was named the Player of the Match, while Padikkal received the Player of the Series award for his total of 284 runs across the two Tests. Indian bowlers Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar each claimed three wickets in the match.
On Day 4, Sri Lanka reached a total of 229 for 6, holding a slim lead of just 16 runs, before rain interrupted play and brought an early end to the day’s action. Both Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis contributed through significant half-centuries.
