Milestone beckons dominant India against Sri Lanka

New Delhi (Reuters): Sri Lanka appear to have neither the gameplan nor the resources to halt India’s seemingly inexorable march towards a record-equalling ninth consecutive series victory when the neighbours clash in the third and final test on Saturday.

Sri Lanka’s long-suffering fans saw a sliver of hope when Dinesh Chandimal and his men blanked Pakistan 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates in October before embarking on their bid to win a maiden test on Indian soil.

They managed to bowl out Virat Kohli’s men for 172 in the first test in Kolkata but after letting a dominant position slip on the final day, needed poor light to intervene to escape with a draw in that weather-hit contest at the Eden Gardens.

At a dry Nagpur, a marauding India cruelly exposed Sri Lanka’s limitations and went on to register their joint biggest victory with more than a day to spare.

India’s ruthless batsmen – four of them helped themselves to centuries – made hay while the sun shone as they toyed with a toothless Sri Lankan attack in a complete mismatch.

The hosts declared their first innings ‘batathon’ at 610 for six and did not need a second go in the middle after the home bowlers duly ran through Sri Lanka twice in the innings and 239 runs triumph.

“Before we came here, we had a gameplan,” Chandimal said after Sri Lanka’s worst defeat in test cricket in which they scored less than 19 runs per wicket.

“We said to the guys, ‘if you get a start, you have to bat long’. But they scored only 50-60 runs and got out. It’s unfortunate but I‘m sure they will learn.”

India, who subjected Sri Lanka to a 9-0 home whitewash across all formats earlier this year, are unlikely to take their foot off the accelerator in the final home test before they leave for South Africa.

As was the case in Kolkata and Nagpur, the track at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla is likely to sport a green tinge as captain Kohli wants the series to double up as preparations for a tougher assignment away to the Proteas.

“We want to prepare for South Africa. That’s why we asked for pitches with help for the fast bowlers,” Kohli said after the Nagpur romp.

“There’s not enough time in between to prepare, so we have to use the time we have now for a big tour coming up.”

Kohli has killed two birds with one stone with his choice of surface, which has also diluted Sri Lanka’s most potent spin threat Rangana Herath, who will miss the Delhi test with a back injury.

Kohli’s counterpart Chandimal, however, will be more alarmed by the lack of application among his batsmen, as was evident on day four of the Nagpur test when seven of them got out in the morning session, most of them through poor shot selections.

India are heavy favourites to win again but only need a draw to tie England and Australia for the record for most consecutive test series wins and Chandimal’s men would have to conjure up something extraordinary to deny the hosts.

Contrasting year for Sri Lanka and India

ESPNCricinfo: Sri Lanka have made sure that their 100th Test defeat will be remembered for a long time to come, and for all the wrong reasons. Their loss by an innings and 239 runs is their heaviest in Test history (in terms of innings defeats). Ironically, they won the toss in each of their five heaviest losses. Two of their top six losses, and three of their top ten, have come in 2017, which is again an illustration of the sort of year they have had.

Right through the Nagpur Test, Sri Lanka were hopelessly outclassed with both bat and ball: they lost 20 wickets in 128.4 overs, scoring only 18.55 runs per wicket, and picked up only six in 176.1 overs, conceding almost 102 runs per wicket. In terms of difference between the bowling and batting averages, this is the fifth largest for Sri Lanka in Tests they have lost.

On the other hand, there was plenty for India to celebrate. The margin of the result equals their biggest Test win - they had also won by the same margin against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2007. These two games are among only three Tests when four Indian batsmen scored hundreds. Three of India’s six biggest wins have been against Sri Lanka.

When Sri Lanka won two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE, there was hope of some sort of a turnaround for Sri Lanka, but their performance in this Test firmly suggests those hopes were misplaced. This was their seventh Test loss this year, which equals the most defeats for them in any calendar year - they had also lost seven in 2015. Their margins of defeat also show just how uncompetitive they have been: of the seven defeats, four have been by an innings, and two by margins of more than 280 runs. In all international matches, this is already by far their worst year in terms of defeats: they have lost 35 games in 2017, ten more than their previous worst.

For India, 2017 has been an unprecedented high – this win was their 32nd international win of the year, their best ever. Their previous highest was 31, in 2016.

Sri Lanka have now lost 11 out of 19 Tests in India, and nine of those losses have been by an innings. Going by the way they lost, things are unlikely to get much better in Delhi.