India vs Sri Lanka 2017: 2nd Test, 5 talking points
It was just another Sunday afternoon for the no.1 Test team. True, Lanka had put up a defiant show on day 3, but there was no way India would lose this one. Even when Karunaratne and Mathews forged a threatening stand, Jadeja and Ashwin kept plugging away ball after ball.
Eventually, Jadeja, adjudged Player of the Match, broke through with three in quick succession and finished with a five-wicket haul. Sri Lanka would be absolutely distraught that their fight came late in the game. If they had managed to put up a similar kind of challenge in the first innings, there would have been a grain of hope to save this game.
Brief Scores: India 622/9d (Pujara 133, Rahane 132, Herath 4/154) beat Sri Lanka 183 (Dickwella 51, Ashwin 5/69) & 386 (Karunaratne 141, Mendis 110, Jadeja 5/152)
Take a glance at the talking points from the second Test.
#5 Sri Lanka clueless against India's dancers
The success formula was simple, tried and tested by India themselves two years back - step out and attack the spinners. When Sri Lanka found their spin twins failing on a batting belter at Galle, they opted to go all out with a rank turner at the SSC. But the move backfired as India posted yet another 600+ total, least perturbed by the three Lankan spinners.
It was disastrous to see Sri Lanka, which once boasted of a master spinner in Muttiah Muralitharan, struggle to contain the flow of runs even against India's spinning all-rounders. Rahane and Pujara were quick on their feet as were the others, disturbing the rhythm of even the veteran spinner, Rangana Herath.