Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Five talking points from the Test series

Virat Kohli's success story as India's Test captain has extended itself yet again. The newest chapter of this saga describes the team's ruthless performance in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, where they whitewashed the hosts in a thumping 3-0 victory.

The best thing about this victory was that each win was greater in margin than the one preceding it.

Here's a look at the dominant results that India managed to pull off over the course of the 3-match series:

1st Test: July 26 to 30, Galle: India won by 304 runs

2nd Test: Aug 3 to 7, Colombo: India won by an innings and 53 runs

3rd Test: Aug 12 to 16, Pallekele: India won by an innings and 171 runs

An array of positives will emerge for India after this series, just as a bunch of problems will latch itself onto anyone who is involved with Sri Lankan cricket. Here is a list of the top five talking points of the series, with respect to both the participating teams:

#1 The emergence of Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been the biggest positive from this series

It is always better to shock people and change their expectations than to give them exactly what they think you can do: Jonah Hill

When Hardik Pandya made his international debut in January last year, no one gave him a second glance. He seemed to be a run-of-the-mill all-rounder of the new era who bowled with an average of 30 and batted lower down the order just to belt a few into the crowd in the death overs.

He did just that for a year. He was a lightning-quick fielder, a useful fourth/fifth bowler and he knew how to swing the willow: the salient features of a modern day limited overs batsman. He performed brilliantly in the ICC Champions Trophy that was hosted in England this June, and won plaudits from cricket experts all over the world.

In spite of his heroics in one-day cricket, he wasn't considered for Test matches. No one even thought of trying him out in the longest format of the game, and rightly so: he had no first-class centuries and had not shown a smidgen of the temperament that is such a pre-requisite to playing Test cricket.

The selectors decided to try him out for the Sri Lanka series though, and the youngster grabbed the (unexpected) opportunity with both hands. He performed well throughout the series, and silenced naysayers every time he set foot on the field.

He played three matches, bowled 32 overs and picked up four wickets with a bowling average of 23.75 to go with an economy of 2.96: his numbers with the ball are impressive, but they don't even come close to his exploits with the bat. He walked out to the middle just three times in the entire series and ended up scoring 178 runs at an average of 59.33 with a fifty and a perfectly-paced hundred.

The biggest positive from Pandya's successful introduction to Test cricket was how he seemed to be more at home with every passing game. There was steady improvement and an increasing sense of belief that he belonged at this level.

When he came out to bat in the first two Tests, the situation was tailor-made for him. The 23-year-old just had to come in and ameliorate on a good foundation, like he always does. The third Test, though, was a challenge for the man from Gujarat. He walked into a tricky phase of the game, when the Indian score read 322/6 and it looked like the hosts had a real chance of matching up to Kohli's men for the first time in the series.

Pandya, however, had other plans. He dug in, let the storm pass, and scored his first fifty runs in a slow, steady and seamless manner. The Sri Lankans were already deflated by then. What followed was a sheer decimation of the bowling attack, as Pandya shed his defensive skin and unleashed his natural game on the proceedings. He smashed 26 runs in an over and scored his next fifty runs at rapid pace.

The right-hander was declared the Man of the Match for the innings, and in the post-match presentation, Kohli declared that Pandya was the biggest positive for India from the series.

It can't get any better for the youngster in his maiden series, can it?

#2 The perils of Sri Lankan cricket

Dinesh Chandimal could do nothing as he watched his team go from bad to worse in the series

Falling down is how we grow, staying down is how we die: Brian Vaszily

Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Muttiah Muralitharan: big names, bigger shoes to fill.

Sri Lanka cricket already had multiple questions to answer when they came into this series. After the conclusion of the series, these questions have only increased.

Angelo Mathews stepped down as their captain after a shocking ODI series loss against Zimbabwe at home. This declaration was immediately followed by Graham Ford deciding to resign as the head coach of the team.

Confusion hung in the air. There were questions everywhere and on everyone's lips.

India might be the World No. 1 Test side right now, but that doesn't make them unconquerable. Sri Lanka made them seem unconquerable though.

Not once in the entire series did India look like losing, very rarely were they not in an unquestionably winning position. Sri Lanka couldn't tame them with the ball. They couldn't scare them with the bat. They couldn't irk them in the field. It looked like the air, along with the fighting spirit, was sucked out of the hosts completely.

The struggle of Sri Lankan cricket is reflected in their ODI series loss to Zimbabwe last month and their failure to qualify for the 2019 World Cup just yet. It will take a while before they get back to their glory, but the cricketing world would like to see the SLCB as well as its players take meaningful steps in the right direction over the next couple of years.

#3 India's opening pair conundrum: A welcome problem for India

KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay - How will Kohli choose?

I like to push characters to extremes so that they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that of an athlete: Chris Cleave

Let us look at the batsmen Kohli has to choose from the next time India don the white jersey again:

Shikhar Dhawan: Man of the Series vs Sri Lanka, 358 runs in four innings, including two big hundreds.

KL Rahul: First Indian to score seven back-to-back half centuries in Test cricket, the ultimate comeback master

Murali Vijay: One of India's top three Test batsmen, an experienced campaigner who has proven himself in stern overseas conditions

This is a conundrum that will drill a hole in the Indian skipper's head, but it definitely makes for a headache he would love to have. He has multiple options to choose from, and there is no doubting each one's talent, consistency or temperament.

Vijay was ruled out of the Sri Lanka series due to a wrist injury, which in turn helped Dhawan make a comeback into the Test fold. The left-handed batsman grabbed the opportunity with both hands and played two thumping innings against the tired-and-tattered Sri Lankan bowlers.

Rahul also made his comeback to the side after a long-standing injury layoff and did not disappoint in the slightest. He went about his business at the top of the innings, took some excellent catches at backward short-leg and 'dabbed' his way to another successful comeback story.

Kohli will now have to pick two of the three players. The final decision, no matter what it is, will be unfair on the batsman who misses out. Another way out for Kohli is to accommodate all three of them and drop a middle-order player from the side. That, however, is unlikelier than the first option, considering the impeccable form Ajinkya Rahane and Hardik Pandya have been in.

The Indian skipper, however, will take this problem in a split-second over Sri Lanka's crisis, where they have the spots but not the right players to fill them with!

#4 Sri Lanka's endless captaincy woes

Sri Lanka's bad form extends to their inconsistent leadership

Leadership is a choice, not a position: Stephen Covey

In the current Sri Lankan setup, leadership seems more of a burden than a privilege. Captains are stepping down, captains are getting injured and captains are confused.

Mathews stepped down after the Zimbabwe series and Chandimal was announced as the Test captain just a couple of weeks after being dropped from the ODI squad. Then Chandimal contracted pneumonia and was ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka. Suddenly, Rangana Herath was the new Test captain. Chandimal's maiden Test as a skipper came in the second game of the series, while Herath was ruled out of the third match courtesy back pain.

Phew.

It is a wonder they knew who to send to the middle for the toss every time, isn't it?

A ship that doesn't have a steady captain can't ever dream of sailing steadily. Herath and Chandimal could not shoulder the additional responsibility. They failed to deliver tactically as well as emotionally, and could not inspire their men to punch above their weight. The side crumpled under the inconsistent, putrid and at times, tardy leadership.

#5 The shimmering Shami show

Shami was at his deadly best throughout the series

Any human anywhere will blossom in hundred unexpected talents and capacities, simply by being given the opportunity to do so: Doris Lessing

We are always so focused with those holding the willow that we sometimes forget that it's the 20 wickets from those with the ball that eventually win you the Test series.

Mohammed Shami outdid himself on this tour and that too on dead, non-seaming and dry pitches. He stood out throughout the series and not only justified his place in the side, but stamped his authority all over it.

The man from Uttar Pradesh played in all three matches of the series and picked up 10 wickets at an incredible bowling average, giving away just 2.90 runs per over. He might not have a fifer to show from this series, but he showed why he is the best pacer India have in the longest format of the game.

He banged the ball in. He bowled at an average speed of over 140 kmph. He pressurized the batsmen. He created opportunities. He swung the ball. He disturbed the woodwork. He claimed wickets.

In his free time, he put smiles on the faces of young ball boys.

The 27-year-old's accuracy has never been questioned, but this series showed that he can breathe fire through some serious pace. He will be India's frontline bowler in the overseas tours to come and hopefully he stays injury-free through the same.