Sonal Dinusha produced a remarkable final-day resistance, scoring an unbeaten 133 as Sri Lanka escaped with a draw in the second Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club here on Thursday. India, who had enforced the follow-on after securing a commanding 213-run first-innings lead, entered the final day needing four wickets to complete a 2-0 sweep. Instead, Dinusha batted through the day and found stubborn support from the lower order as Sri Lanka reached 429 for nine before the match was called off.
The result gave India the two-match series 1-0, following their 165-run victory in the opening Test at Galle. For Sri Lanka, however, the draw represented a striking recovery from a position in which defeat had appeared the most likely outcome. The hosts had been bowled out for 290 in reply to India’s 503 for nine declared and were asked to bat again.
Dinusha stands firm
Sri Lanka resumed the fifth day at 229 for six, just 16 runs ahead, leaving India well placed to run through the remaining batting. But Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha turned the morning session into a prolonged exercise in frustration for the visitors.
The pair added 112 runs for the seventh wicket, consuming 246 deliveries and, crucially, taking Sri Lanka through the entire opening session without losing a wicket. Nuwantha’s resistance finally ended for 46 when Manav Suthar induced an edge that Dhruv Jurel accepted at slip. Ravindra Jadeja then removed Prabath Jayasuriya, but India could not dislodge Dinusha.
Lahiru Kumara proved equally determined at the other end. His 12 came from 90 deliveries as he helped Dinusha add 47 runs while eating further into the remaining time. Dinusha reached his hundred from 196 balls and continued to occupy the crease even as India experimented with different bowling combinations in search of a breakthrough. He eventually finished unbeaten on 133 from 264 deliveries, hitting eight fours and two sixes. Kumara was eventually removed by Jadeja, but Asitha Fernando survived alongside Dinusha until the contest was effectively beyond India.
A series to remember
The innings completed an exceptional match and series for Dinusha. He scored centuries in both innings of the Colombo Test and finished the two-match contest with 409 runs from four innings, including three hundreds and a fifty. His performance also placed him in rare company. Dinusha became only the third batter to score centuries in both innings of a Test in which his team had been forced to follow on, joining India’s Vijay Hazare and Zimbabwe great Andy Flower.
Sri Lanka’s recovery was historic in another respect. Having conceded a 213-run deficit, the hosts eventually established a 216-run advantage — their largest lead in a Test after being made to follow on. It was also the first time Sri Lanka had avoided defeat against India after being asked to follow on. Before the Colombo Test, they had lost all eight such matches against the Indians.
India take series
India nevertheless leave Sri Lanka with the series trophy and important World Test Championship points. Centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel had helped the visitors pile up 503 for nine declared in their first innings and put them firmly in control of the match. Suthar and Jadeja took three wickets each in Sri Lanka’s second innings, but the attack could not complete the job on the final day.
For India, the 1-0 result also marked their first away Test series victory since their triumph in the West Indies in 2023 and Shubman Gill’s first overseas Test series win as captain. But the final day belonged emphatically to Dinusha. After spending more than seven hours at the crease in his unbeaten innings, the left-hander ensured Sri Lanka finished the series with a result that had looked highly improbable when they were asked to follow on.