India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test: top 5 performers 

In a one sided Test match played between India and Sri Lanka at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, the home team convincingly defeated the visitors by an innings and 239 runs.

The Indian team played a dominant role in the match from the very beginning, as they bundled up the opponents at a score of 205 on the first day. Then, it was all about the Indian batting, in which a total of four hundreds (including one double-hundred) were scored, and they declared their innings on 610 for the loss of six wickets. It was then just a matter of time, as the Indian bowlers wrapped up the SL batting at a score of 166 and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

There were some spectacular displays of both batting and bowling by the players in the match.

Let’s look at five players who stood apart from the others.

Virat Kohli

The Indian skipper was once again at his very best in the Nagpur Test. The “Run Machine” batted with an aggressive approach in the first innings and scored his career’s fifth double hundred.

Kohli came down in the third session of the second day, and scored a quick fire half century before the day was concluded. The next day, he batted with the same attitude, and always looked for scoring runs at a quick pace. While Pujara anchored the innings at the other end, Kohli played the role of an aggressor, and reached to the hundred run mark with a strike-rate of 76.92.

The Indian captain did not stop there, and accumulated even more runs for the team, which made the the team's intentions about batting only once and winning the match with an innings difference clear from the start.

Kohli reached the 200-run mark in the 168th over of the innings, when the score of the team was already more than 550. He scored 213 runs in 267 balls at a strike rate of 79.78, before he was dismissed by Dilruwan Perera.

Kohli became the first captain to score 10 international hundreds in a calendar year, and got past Ricky Ponting, who had scored 9 hundreds in a calendar year twice. For his magnificient performance, he was given the Man of the Match award.

Ravichandran Ashwin

The right-arm off break bowler continued his great form with the ball in the Nagpur match as well. Ashwin bowled in the right areas, took wickets at regular intervals and made it difficult for the opponents to score runs against him.

In the first innings, Ashwin kept his line and length tight and did not allow the opponents to score runs easily. In the seventh over of his spell, he took the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne, the first wicket by an Indian spinner in the series.

Ashwin also dismissed the Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal, who was batting well on 57, and made it difficult for the Lankans to get to a respectable total. The Indian ended his spell with figures of 4 for 67 in 28.1 overs.

Unlike the first innings, Ashwin bowled some attacking deliveries in the second innings. Although he went for a few runs, but he stuck to his plans and succeeded in taking wickets quickly. He went through the Lankan lower order and ensured the team’s innings victory in the match.

Ashwin finished his match spell with 8 wickets for 130 runs and also became the quickest bowler in cricket history to have taken 300 wickets in Test matches.

Cheteswar Pujara

In Nagpur, Cheteswar Pujara once again proved why he is the most dependable batsman of the Indian team in Test matches. He scored a brilliant hundred in the first innings, and was also part of the 206-run stand for the second wicket along with Vijay.

Pujara arrived at the crease on the first day of the match after the wicket of KL Rahul when a few overs were left for the day, and batted till the lunch break on the third day, which displays his ability to bat for longer duration with calm and patience.

He did not play any loose shots, left the balls bowled outside the off stump, stayed at the crease with resistance and resilience and scored 143 runs at a strike rate of 39.50, before he lost his wicket to Dasun Shanaka.

Pujara became the third and the only Indian batsman to score 1000 runs in Tests this year after South Africa’s Dean Elgar and Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne.

Murali Vijay

In the second Test played at VCA stadium, Nagpur, Vijay made a strong comeback and scored a strong hundred in the first innings of the match. The opener scored 128 runs at a strike rate of 57.92, including 11 fours and 1 six.

After KL Rahul was dismissed early, it was the job of Vijay and Cheteswar Pujara to hold the innings and build a partnership, and the duo did not disappoint. Vijay, along with Pujara, added 206 runs for the second wicket.

Vijay got the opportunity to be in the playing XI of the Indian team in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, and he made full use of the opportunity. He was solid in his defence, kept his calm and played a composed innings.

He never looked uncomfortable at any point of the innings, and made the Lankans strive for his wicket. With this colossal performance, Vijay proved the strength of the Indian openers in Test cricket in the current scenario.

Ishant Sharma

The Delhi lad impressed everybody with his bowling performance in the match at Nagpur. He perfectly utilised the help provided by the pitch to the pace bowlers and struck key wickets in crucial time.

Sharma was not included in the playing XI of the Kolkata Test, and was asked by the team management to play for his Ranji team Delhi, where he performed exceptionally well.

Here, in the absence of strike bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he got the opportunity to play the Nagpur Test and he proved himself well.

In the first innings, he took the wickets of both the Sri Lankan openers Sadeera Samarawickarma and Dimuth Karunaratne, and troubled the other SL batsman with his pace and bounce. He ended with figures of 3 wickets for 37 runs in 14 overs.

The story was same in the second innings, as he dismissed Samarawickrama in the second ball of the innings with the help of an in swinger. He also took the wicket of Niroshan Dickwella, the batsman with an ability to score runs quickly, and ensured India’s victory in the match.

Sharma gained a lot of appreciation for his performance in the match, and has justified his place in the Indian Test team.