Sri Lanka youngsters Dhanjaya de Silva, captain Dinesh Chandimal, Roshean de Silva and Dickwella helped the visitors to register a creditable draw on the fifth day of the 3rd test match at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi. It was a great performance by Sri Lankan as Dhanjaya Silva scored a brilliant century and retired hurt. Sri Lanka ended the day on 299 for 5.
Starting the 5th day on 31 for 3, India began the day on a great note taking the wicket of experienced Angelo Mathews. After that Dhanjaya de Silva and captain Dinesh Chandimal played the Indian bowlers with great intent. De Silva completed his half-century off 92 balls. Both Sri Lankan batsmen continued their aggressive approach against the Indian bowlers. At lunch, the visitors made 119 for 4.
After the lunch break, both batsmen looked good. R Ashwin got the breakthrough for team India as he dismissed captain Dinesh Chandimal for 36 runs. Both the batsmen added 112 runs for the 4th wicket. Dhanjaya de Silva was struggling with an injury. He completed his 3rd century off 188 balls. Dhanjaya de Silva retired hurt on 119 runs after trying to seal a run. Roshen Silva and Dickwella helped Sri Lanka to go into tea at 226 for 5.
In the third session, Roshan Silva completed his first half-century after being dismissed for 0 in the first innings. Dickwella was attempting shots which were trying to get him out. Both of them survived. Sri Lanka ended the day on 299 for 5 when both captains decided to call off.
India 536 for 7d in 127.5 overs ( Kohli 243, Vijay 155, Rohit Sharma 65, Sandakan 4/167) and 246 for 5d in 52.2 overs ( Shikhar Dhawan 67, Kohli 50, Rohit Sharma 50*, Pujara 49)
Sri Lanka 373 in 135.3 overs ( Dinesh Chandimal 164, Mathews 111, Ashwin 3/90, Mohammad Shami 2/85, Ishant Sharma 3/98) and 299 for 5 in 103 overs ( Dhanjaya de Silva 119 retired hurt, Karunanthe 13, Roshen Silva 74*, Dickwella 44* Jadeja 3/81, Ashwin 1/126)
Captain and Man of the match Virat Kohli said: The series on a personal note was a good one. I was happy to see myself play attacking cricket in test matches. “ My body is asking rest now. The workload has been massive. I need rest. My body has taken a toll in the last few years. Right now it is a perfect time to rest before the tour of South Africa.”
India has now equaled the record of Australia winning 9 successive test series win. The ODI series will begin on 10th December.