6 Talking Points from the Third Test Between Sri Lanka and India

India won the three-match series against Sri Lanka 2-1An enthralling Test series between two young teams in transition has finally come to an end. Sri Lanka won the first from the jaws of defeat while India won the second by playing even better than they did in the first sans the two bad sessions. That set up the series nicely before the third.Rain could have dampened the spirits, especially after only 15 overs were possible on Day 1 of the third Test. But since then, not too many overs were lost and a good match that went into the last session was conjured. The Test will be talked about for a long time not just for the intensity of the cricket, which was high class right through, but also for the nature of the pitch – a sporty, spicy one except on the final day and for the player tiffs that manifested during several heated moments.In the end, India prevailed, winning it's first away series since West Indies in 2011, the first series win in Sri Lanka for 22 years and that too coming back from 0-1 down in the first Test. However, the young Indian team has won hearts with their aggressive, walk-the-talk intensity and skills with bat and ball in the tough situations.

#1 The resurgence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma

Ashwin picked up 21 wickets to win the Man of the Series award

The biggest plus for India from this series is the resurgence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma. Ashwin finished with 21 wickets in the series, the most by any Indian bowler in an India-Sri Lanka Test series and deservedly picked up the Man of the Series award. Ishant took eight wickets in the final Test, reaching a major milestone of 200 Test wickets as well, the 8^th Indian player to achieve the feat.

Ashwin got back his mojo through patience and getting the art of classical off-spin right without relying on too many variations. Ishant has finally got his wrist position right, delivering the ball with a beautiful seam, something he has rarely managed across his career. His economy in this match is another stand-out showing he is not only the workhorse but is now actually the spearhead, drying the runs, getting the bounce, softening the batsman with short-pitched deliveries and getting big wickets when needed even with fuller deliveries.

Ishant Sharma has stamped his authority as the spearhead of the bowling attack

#2 The Ishant Sharma - Dhammika Prasad tiff

The 3^rd Test was marred by many ugly incidents which needed the umpire’s intervention.

Four players were charged by an ICC panel for a tiff that turned a reasonably amicable Test series into an intense battle. Ishant Sharma, Dhammika Prasad, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne were the four players.

Tempers flared with Ishant repeatedly striking his head, first while batting against Prasad and later when he got Chandimal’s wicket. He also gave Upul Tharanga a send-off. Chandimal is in trouble as well given he made physical contact, however faint, during a heated argument. Ishant and Rangana Herath were involved in a face-off when Sri Lanka were batting in their first innings.

Prasad got some bouncers from Ishant, a favour he returned in kind while bowling deliberately a big no-ball. Ishant has been docked 65% of his match fee in the second Test already and now face the prospect of a ban. While Virat Kohli and Angelo Mathews tried to calm things down alternately when they were on the field, different incidents kept popping up like Dhammika Prasad sprinting behind Ishant all the way till the pavilion when India’s second innings ended.

Kusal Perera’s dismissal in the second innings involved another unsavoury incident which Ravichandran Ashwin put a brake to quickly.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara - The comeback man

Pujara carried his bat through in India’s first innings remaining unbeaten on 145

Pujara lost his spot late last year when he had failed in seven consecutive Tests in England and Australia, sometimes despite getting starts. Injury to Murali Vijay allowed the technically correct batsman to get a chance in the team opening the innings and he certainly made a lot of hay while the sun shone on him.

In fact, it was Pujara who stood between India and a paltry total and he became only the fourth Indian opener after Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid to carry his bat through the innings. No one in international Test cricket has done it since David Warner in late 2011 and that makes the feat even more impressive. Pujara scored 145* and was rightly awarded the Man of the Match

India were 119 for five at one stage before Pujara added 54 with Naman Ojha and then 104 for the eighth wicket with Amit Mishra who scored 59, pushing India’s first innings total to 312.

Pujara has the happy knack of performing every time he comes into the team, examples being his gritty second innings knock on debut and his 154 against New Zealand in the first comeback of his career. He has a fine conversion rate to scoring his seventh Test century with six half-centuries and two of those seven centuries are double hundreds.

#4 Angelo Mathews - Sri Lanka\'s crisis man

Angelo Mathews is by far Sri Lanka’s best player at present

Angelo Mathews, after the recent retirement of Kumar Sangakkara, is Sri Lanka’s best player by far and it will take someone else a while to catch up. What is winning him the respect of his players, making him a true leader, is the quality of his runs he scores regularly.

No one will forget Headingley in a hurry. Mathews stands up when the chips are down. He had already scored a century in the second Test. With a target of 386 and Sri Lanka in deep trouble at 21 for three, when he walked out, he showed his class yet again. Mathews survived a no-ball dismissal, gone-for-all-money run out opportunity and a plumb LBW call turned down.

But beyond that, he showed nerves of steel in a master-class 110, a rare fourth innings ton. It was the seventh in his Test career. Mathews averages close to 70 in the fourth innings, his highest in any innings, which shows how he stands up when the conditions are the toughest, a little like VVS Laxman who played at the same number towards the tail end of his career.

Adding 53 with Kaushal Silva and 135 for the sixth wicket with Kusal Perera, Mathews at one point made Sri Lankans believe a victory for Sri Lanka was possible. Mathews, one of the finest all-rounders going around at the moment, has become Sri Lanka’s batting mainstay and might have to move to No.4 to control the game better.

#5 A rare fast bowlers track in the subcontinent

Dhammika Prasad picked up eight wickets in the match

The curator of this track like in the previous two Tests has to be given a big thumbs up. Such a track is an absolute rarity in the sub-continent, leave alone Sri Lanka. It had something in it for every kind of bowler. But, seeing a pitch with enough movement to help the fast bowlers was refreshing.

It shows up in the figures of the bowlers as well. Dhammika Prasad ended with two four-wicket hauls with match figures of 8-169. Nuwan Pradeep picked up a four wicket haul in India’s second innings with figures of 4-62. It is hard to remember when fast bowlers took eight wickets in the third innings of a sub-continent.

The biggest impact came from Ishant Sharma though, who picked a five-wicket haul when Sri Lanka were batting in their first innings. Ishant picked three more in the final innings with Umesh Yadav picking a couple. The track not only had bounce and carry but also plenty of seam movement especially in the first three days of the match.

#6 The lower-order contributions

Amit Mishra was a revelation with the bat in the series

This match was interesting for the lower-order contributions that came for both sides, making the contest very exciting. India had Amit Mishra and Ravichandran Ashwin scoring half centuries at No.9. Pujara and Mishra had added 104 for the ninth wicket, the highest at the SSC Colombo.

Rangana Herath scored 49 for Sri Lanka as they went from 48/6 to 201 all out. India’s last three wickets added 95 runs in their second innings as well. It helps teams when the lower order contributes. In this Test series where a lot of batting collapses have been seen including lots of early wickets, it was heartening to see bowlers putting their batting skills to good use. In fact, in both innings Mishra was unfortunately run-out and stumped in very similar fashion.