The Sri Lanka Test Series is coming to an end and the three test series in all likelihood will end in 3-0 victory for india under Virat Kohli. The three test matches have seen the Lankan team unable to face the Indian challenge and will hand over to India for the first time a complete series win on their home ground. The first test at Galle showed the difference between the two teams as Shikhar Dhawan coming back into the team in place of an injured Ramesh, hit a quick fire 190 and India totalled over 600. Sri Lanka had no answer as Kolhi wanting to have some of the pie did not enforce the follow-on and hit 103 not out before declaring.
It was all over bar the shouting. The second test saw India again pile up a score of 600 and once again despite some heroics the Lankans did not measure up to the task. These defeats will have a demoralising effect on the Lanka team and their Cricket Board has to do something to raise the fortunes of the team reported the Times News.
Third test
The third and last test is on and once again the Lanka team has put in a pathetic performance. India seems to have tremendous bench strength as the replacement for Jadeja, who has been banned for one test by the ICC, Kuldip Yadav has mesmerised the Lanka team with his Chinaman and was able to muster just 135 against an Indian total of 488. Once again Shikhar Dhawan has shown the way with another quickfire century.
The Indian skipper Kohli was out for 42, but new boy Hardik Pandya smashed 108 not out in just 86 balls to completely demoralise the Lanka team.
Gift of the English rulers
Cricket is a gift of English rule to both Lanka and India. Not many may be aware that the second oldest cricket ground after Lords is the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.
The stadium there can house over 100,000 spectators. The Indians took to cricket in a big way and even during the days of British rule the game generated a lot of public interest. In 1930 Lala Amarnath became the first Indian to hit a century in test cricket when he stroked his way to 118 against Douglas Jardine's MCC team at Bombay.
I will say that 118 gave Indians greater pride than the 51 test centuries of Sachin Tendulkar because India was a slave nation then and Lala showed that the English could be beaten at their own game.
Power house
India today is the power house of world cricket and 60 percent of all finance is generated from India. The game has a tremendous following and Indian cricket stars earn fabulous amounts. Lanka after this defeat will have to think hard what to do further. For a long time, Sangakkara and Jayasuriya held the Lanka test team together but their departure has left a void and the board is guilty of not grooming anybody to replace these greats. In the meantime, the Indian team under Kohli can bask in the sunshine of a great series win.
