From whichever angle India’s Test series victory in Sri Lanka is seen, a new name crops up as a game-changer, making it a truly collective effort of the team.
The series was gripping right through and the credit for much of the entertaining stuff must go to the Sri Lankan authorities for providing great pitches which gave both the teams enough to seize the opportunities.
The beauty of the contest was when both sides were in with a shout to win the last Test. If the Indians refused to get frustrated by the aggressive defiance of Angelo Mathews and debutant wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Pereira, the Sri Lankans kept pace with the run rate for a final flourish post-tea. The Indians knew they had a trump in the second new ball while the Sri Lankans looked up to their captain to at least force a draw if not a sensational victory.
Naturally, in all this, the Indians see Virat Kohli as the man who delivered what he promised – or what he said would be his approach in his first full series as captain and overseas at that.
To execute his plan, Virat needed men who work on his wavelength. The contribution of everyone was a must if his five-bowler-plan had to work. No one had taken it more seriously than the bowlers, who contributed crucial runs in the lower order, enough to buy 60 wickets, which an Indian team has done only the second time in a three-Test card.
Yet, the figures show five mainline batsmen scoring hundreds in the six innings, none more precious than the one with which makeshift opener Cheteshwar Pujara carried his bat through in the first innings of the last Test. Come to think of it, his wait for a Test would have been much longer than eight months if regular openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay had not been injured.
Likewise, Ajinkya Rahane’s century in the second Test came in an unfamiliar one drop and not at No.5, where he got most of his runs, after the experiment with Rohit Sharma failed to come off as No.3 in the first Test.
The other two batsmen to score hundreds were Kohli and opener Lokesh Rahul, who also brought off a diving one-handed catch as makeshift wicketkeeper in the second innings of the second Test to dismiss Angelo Mathews, the lone batsman to score two hundreds in the series.
Rohit Sharma seemed to be the whipping boy of the experts. The young man disappointed many with his shot selection after getting in. His supporters might argue that his 202 runs in the series is second highest aggregate after his captain’s 233 in six innings. But, it is no consolation getting an odd fifty to retain a place in the top order, more so when equally capable batsmen are sitting out.
