India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in Galle to take 1-0 series lead

India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in the first Test at Galle International Stadium, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was the standout performer with a 10-wicket haul across the match, including a six-wicket return in the second innings, his second five-wicket haul of the game.

Devdutt Padikkal’s 167 in the first innings, his maiden Test century, had earlier given India a 178-run first-innings lead after the hosts were bowled out for 284 in reply to India’s 462.

Sri Lanka’s chase in the fourth innings never gathered momentum as Suthar and India’s other bowlers worked through the batting order, sealing the win inside four days despite rain interruptions earlier in the match.

The result gives India a 1-0 lead heading into the second and final Test of the series, which begins on August 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.

India will look to seal a series win at the SSC, a venue with a different character to Galle, while Sri Lanka will be under pressure to level the series on home soil.

Sri Lanka’s first innings of 284 had been built around a 146-run stand between Sonal Dinusha, who scored a maiden Test century, and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella, who made 80, after the hosts had slipped to 90 for 5.

The victory extends India’s strong recent record in away Test series, with the squad still settling into a new captaincy structure under Shubman Gill following the retirements of several senior players.

Suthar’s match haul of ten wickets is the best of his young Test career so far, and comes after he had already contributed with the ball during India’s warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka Cricket XI earlier this month.

India’s spin-heavy attack, which also includes Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, is expected to play a central role again at the SSC in Colombo, a venue that has traditionally offered turn for slow bowlers as a Test progresses.

Photo by Price Zero, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0