27, 2026. (AP) Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha is congratulated by the India’s team members at the end of the day five of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Aug.
Judging by their body language, India had already checked out of the fixture with Sri Lanka’s lead over 200 runs and little time remaining. In the second Test alone, he spent nearly 147 overs out in the middle, facing 71 overs, frustrating the visitors and keeping the win out of their reach. India, even after picking up two wickets in the first hour after Lunch, were still two wickets away from beginning their chase but that 12-ball period summed up a story of what could have, and should have, been for India in the first session.
TimesofIndia.com in Colombo: With the handshake looming, Shubman Gill introduced himself into the attack. Yashasvi Jaiswal was introduced from the other end, and even Dhruv Jurel rolled his arm over as the writing was on the cards. A result in India’s favour was almost out of the equation and the visitors were waiting for the formalities to be completed. India would rue drawing a Test they were in a very good position of winning, squandering the opportunity to bolster their World Test Championship (WTC) final chances. It wasn’t easy; whenever he came out to bat, the team was in a spot of bother and he mostly had the lower-order and tail for company. Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha celebrates his hundred runs on day five of the second Test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)(PTI08_27_2026_000287A) The entire field moved towards the off-side, placing enough men in catching positions for a miscued drive. Dinusha had been pushed back for most of the over and here Siraj was trying to induce a false shot from the most consistent batter of the series. The plan didn’t work but India’s attempt to finally make things happen brought success when Prabath Jayasuriya was dismissed in the very next over while driving against Ravindra Jadeja. India, however, focused on cutting off boundaries, allowing easy singles and even keeping fielders positioned for a reverse-sweep. In a Test match! The skipper spoke to coach Gambhir and video analyst Hari Prasad Mohan when nothing was going their way in the first session. They took the new ball, tried different combinations, played around with the field, albeit defensively, but none worked. Despite being in a position of absolute control, India played catch-up. However, with the weather gods permitting and the advantage of the first-innings run cushion, they always had the best chance of securing a favourable result.
It was a period where shoulders started dropping, leaving India head coach Gautam Gambhir with no option but to summon captain Gill to the change room before the lunch break.
Across the two innings, Sri Lanka’s lower-order, apart from the usual suspect Dinusha, remained the thorn in the flesh as they collectively faced 71 overs deliveries. It took India 44.1 overs to wrap up the tail in the first innings, but they couldn’t do that in more than 90 overs in the second. This will require a lot of introspection and the team needs to be tactically better for tougher shores in future. The runs were never the question but the hosts were wiping off crucial time from the fixture, hoping the dark clouds would rescue them and help force the best result: a draw.
