India vs Sri Lanka 2017: 2nd Test, 5 talking points

It was just another Sunday afternoon for the no.1 Test team. True, Lanka had put up a defiant show on day 3, but there was no way India would lose this one. Even when Karunaratne and Mathews forged a threatening stand, Jadeja and Ashwin kept plugging away ball after ball.

Eventually, Jadeja, adjudged Player of the Match, broke through with three in quick succession and finished with a five-wicket haul. Sri Lanka would be absolutely distraught that their fight came late in the game. If they had managed to put up a similar kind of challenge in the first innings, there would have been a grain of hope to save this game.

Brief Scores: India 622/9d (Pujara 133, Rahane 132, Herath 4/154) beat Sri Lanka 183 (Dickwella 51, Ashwin 5/69) & 386 (Karunaratne 141, Mendis 110, Jadeja 5/152)

Take a glance at the talking points from the second Test.

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#5 Sri Lanka clueless against India's dancers

Indian batsmen used their feet to good effect against the spinners

The success formula was simple, tried and tested by India themselves two years back - step out and attack the spinners. When Sri Lanka found their spin twins failing on a batting belter at Galle, they opted to go all out with a rank turner at the SSC. But the move backfired as India posted yet another 600+ total, least perturbed by the three Lankan spinners.

It was disastrous to see Sri Lanka, which once boasted of a master spinner in Muttiah Muralitharan, struggle to contain the flow of runs even against India's spinning all-rounders. Rahane and Pujara were quick on their feet as were the others, disturbing the rhythm of even the veteran spinner, Rangana Herath.

#4 Pujara gives hope for India's overseas challenges

Cheteshwar Pujara revelled yet again, scoring another superb hundred

India have had a long home season before they set out on the tour of the Island Nation. With bigger challenges awaiting them overseas, this series was supposed to be a test for their batsmen, who are known to falter abroad. But with conditions similar to that in India, the batsmen just had to fine tune themselves and they did just that, especially Pujara.

Known as the successor to Rahul Dravid, Pujara dug in for the long haul, put a price on his wicket, and churned out another magnificent ton. His scintillating counter-attacking stand with Rahane was the highlight of the Test match. Given that Pujara possesses acute judgement outside his off-stump and a sound defence, he remains India's biggest hope outside India.

#3 Kusal Mendis, Karunaratne need some fine tuning

Karunaratne sizzled with a hundred in the second innings

Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis have been Sri Lanka's saviours in recent times but the duo have been consistently inconsistent, which has affected Lanka's results. Karunaratne, known as a firefighter when the situation demands, has struggled to create an impact in the first innings on several occasions.

In Galle as well, the southpaw was playing catch up and fell three short of a hundred. This time around he and Kusal Mendis, another highly talented prospect, scored respective centuries, but could not put in a fighting show in the first innings, when it could have impacted the final result of the game.

#2 Jadeja sizzles with his unerring lines

Jadeja completed a five-wicket haul to cut short Lanka's fightback

Ravindra Jadeja is a menace, not just to opposition batsmen and hair stylists, but also to the text commentators who struggle to type at the speed he completes an over.

But perhaps that has done him a world of good. Not thinking too much and just focussing on bowling stump to stump has been Jadeja's biggest success.

Right when it looked like Lanka would take the game into day 5, Jadeja intervened with four wickets that hammered down the nail in Sri Lanka's coffin.

#1 Ravichandran Ashwin puts in another all-round display

Ashwin picked up a five-wicket haul and also hit a half-century

Ravichandran Ashwin is as good an all-rounder as they come in suitable conditions. With his unorthodox methods and plentiful variations, Ashwin keeps the battle engrossing with the ball. As is the norm in the sub-continent, he completed yet another five-wicket haul in Sri Lanka's first innings.

This was after he had compiled yet another useful half-century from no.6, where he is quickly establishing himself in the Test side. A sturdy player with a strong aptitude in batting, Ashwin has always been a bit of an underrated batsman. However, his recent promotion to no.6 is proof that India recognise his abilities with the willow.