By Dwayne Ferreira.
India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in the first Test at Galle as Manav Suthar claimed 10 wickets and Devdutt Padikkal struck 167.
INDIA – 462 & 193
Padikkal 167 & 44, Rahul 82 & 35, Pant 66
SRI LANKA – 284 & 206
Dinusha 100 & 84, Dickwella 80, Dhananjaya 59
Manav Suthar: 10 wickets in the match
India won by 165 runs
Padikkal Puts India in Control
The final margin was emphatic, but for long periods the Test was more competitive than that scoreline suggests. Sri Lanka repeatedly found ways to recover, only to discover that each fightback had come after India had already built another layer of control.
India’s victory was shaped primarily by their huge first innings. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, they piled up 462, with Devdutt Padikkal producing the innings that ultimately gave the visitors command of the match.
Padikkal’s 167 from 230 balls was the standout contribution, while KL Rahul added a patient 82 and Dhruv Jurel made 51. Sri Lanka’s bowlers worked hard, with Prabath Jayasuriya taking four wickets and debutant Keshara Nuwantha claiming three, but India had already placed the hosts under severe pressure.
Dinusha and Dickwella Rescue Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s reply then began disastrously. Nishan Madushka was dismissed without scoring, Dinesh Chandimal made only four, and the middle order failed to provide the stability the innings required.
At 90 for five, Sri Lanka were in danger of being completely overwhelmed. That was when Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella transformed the innings.
The pair added 146 runs for the sixth wicket, dragging Sri Lanka from a position of near collapse into something far more respectable. Dickwella counterattacked for 80 from 115 balls, while Dinusha showed remarkable patience and control to complete his maiden Test century.
Dinusha’s 100 from 168 deliveries was not an innings built on extravagant strokeplay. Instead, he occupied the crease, absorbed pressure and forced India’s bowlers to work for every breakthrough.
Sri Lanka eventually reached 284, still leaving India with a commanding 178-run first-innings lead. Manav Suthar took four wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja claimed three, ensuring that the visitors retained clear control despite Sri Lanka’s recovery.
Asitha Leads Sri Lanka’s Fightback
The hosts then produced their best bowling performance of the match when India batted again. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for a duck, and wickets continued to arrive often enough to prevent India from settling into another dominant innings.
Asitha Fernando led the attack brilliantly and finished with 4 for 31, while Jayasuriya claimed three wickets. For a period, Sri Lanka had created an opportunity to restrict India’s advantage and perhaps give themselves a realistic fourth-innings chase.
Rishabh Pant changed that equation.
Pant attacked his way to 66 from 69 balls, striking eight fours and two sixes. His innings was crucial because every additional run pushed the target further beyond Sri Lanka on a deteriorating Galle surface.
India were eventually bowled out for 193, leaving Sri Lanka a target of 372. It was a steep chase, but the hosts still had the chance to make India work for victory.
Sri Lanka’s Chase Unravels Early
That possibility began disappearing almost immediately.
Madushka fell for six, before Pasindu Sooriyabandara endured a brutal introduction to Test batting. Entering the match as Chandimal’s concussion replacement, he was trapped leg before by Suthar from his very first delivery and was dismissed for a golden duck on debut.
Kamindu Mendis then fell for two, and when Lahiru Udara was dismissed for 16, Sri Lanka had slumped to 47 for four. The chase had effectively become a battle to survive.
Once again, Dinusha became the centre of Sri Lanka’s resistance.
Dinusha Stands Tall Again
This time he was joined by captain Dhananjaya de Silva, and together they added 95 runs to halt India’s momentum. Dhananjaya made a determined 59 from 151 balls, while Dinusha continued to look the most assured Sri Lankan batter in the match.
Dinusha followed his first-innings hundred with another excellent knock, making 84 from 128 balls. Across the two innings, he scored 184 runs, an exceptional return in a Test where much of Sri Lanka’s established batting order struggled.
When Dhananjaya was dismissed, Sri Lanka’s resistance began to weaken. Dinusha continued for a while longer, but once Suthar removed him, the match moved rapidly towards its conclusion.
Suthar Finishes the Job
Sri Lanka collapsed from 199 for six to 199 for nine, with Suthar tearing through the lower order. Prabath Jayasuriya and Lahiru Kumara were both dismissed without scoring, leaving Keshara Nuwantha to delay the inevitable.
Nuwantha resisted with 20, but Suthar eventually bowled him to dismiss Sri Lanka for 206 in 77.4 overs and complete India’s 165-run victory.
Suthar finished the second innings with 6 for 55, giving him 10 wickets in the match after his four-wicket haul in the first innings. His performance ultimately separated the two sides and ensured India converted their early dominance into victory.
Sri Lanka Left With One Major Positive
India deserved the win because they consistently found a player capable of taking control at the decisive moments. Padikkal did it with the bat in the first innings, Pant did it with his counterattack in the second, and Suthar finished the job with the ball.
For Sri Lanka, the defeat will still contain one major positive. Dinusha walked in at 90 for five in the first innings and made 100, then returned with Sri Lanka in trouble again in the fourth innings and scored 84.
His performance gave Sri Lanka hope twice, but it also highlighted the larger problem. Too many of their recoveries came only after the match had already tilted heavily towards India.
That will be the key lesson heading into the second Test. Sri Lanka showed they could fight back against India, but against a side of this quality, they cannot afford to spend so much of the match recovering from damage already done.
