Kumar Sangakkara gets a chance to bow out in style by leading Sri Lanka to a series-clinching victory in the second Test against India starting in Colombo on Thursday.

The prolific left-hander, the highest run-getter among those still playing at the highest level, will bid adieu to international cricket after the match, ending a glorious 15-year career.

With Sri Lanka leading the three-match series after conjuring a brilliant come-from-behind win in the first Test in Galle by 63 runs, the stage is set at the P. Sara Oval for a Sangakkara special.

The 37-year-old will be desperate to end an unusually barren streak at the venue where he has fallen for zero in each of his last three Tests, including a first-ball duck against Pakistan in June.

Sangakkara scored five and 40 against the Indians in Galle, where Sri Lanka snatched a remarkable victory after seemingly heading for a crushing loss.

The hosts had been reduced to 95-5 in their second innings before lunch on the third day, still 98 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat, when Dinesh Chandimal led the recovery with a brilliant 162 off 169 balls.

Chandimal shared valuable partnerships with Lahiru Thirimanne (44) and Jehan Mubarak (49) to lift the hosts to 367 before veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took over.

Herath grabbed seven wickets as Virat Kohli’s men, chasing a modest victory target of 176, were skittled for 112 soon after lunch on the fourth day.

‘Go for the kill’

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said nothing less than a series win would be a fitting tribute to Sangakkara.

“We will definitely go for the kill,” he said. “Sangakkara deserves the best possible farewell and only a win can do that. There is so much to play for in this Test.”

Indian team director Ravi Shastri said it hurt to lose at Galle after dominating the Test till the third afternoon, but promised to set things right in the next two matches.

“Matches like Galle hurt you more than some others, because you have dominated the Test and still lost it,” the former all-rounder said.

“You learn from this kind of result quicker than any other kind of result. Hopefully you will see it in the next few days.”

The Indians, victims of several contentious umpiring decisions in Galle, paid dearly for the defiant refusal by their powerful cricket board to adopt the Decision Review System (DRS) for bilateral matches.

Both Chandimal and Thirimanne were fortunate to get into double figures, having survived three appeals for catches close to the wicket in a 10-minute period before lunch on the third day.

Replays showed all three catches – two against Chandimal and one against Thirimanne – were clean, but the absence of DRS meant India could not ask for reviews from the television umpire.

Indian captain Virat Kohli was reluctant to speak about those decisions, but said the need for DRS will be discussed after the series.

“It is not an issue I want to debate on,” he said. “When the series is over, we will sit down and figure out how important is it or how much we want to use it.”

Dhawan out of series

The tourists were dealt a major blow when in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan, who hit a century at Galle, was ruled out of the two remaining Tests with a hairline fracture in his right hand.

The injury to Dhawan left India in a spot of bother as the other opening batsman, Lokesh Rahul, was dismissed for seven and five in Galle.

First-choice opener Murali Vijay missed the Galle Test with a hamstring injury but is expected to recover in time for the second match.

Top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is waiting in the wings, while India had already summoned all-rounder Stuart Binny to join the squad as the 16th member before Dhawan’s non-availability was confirmed.

India confident about next Test match

Reuters: Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra said that the cricket team was working very hard and will make a comeback in the next Test match against Sri Lanka.

Mishra was interacting with the media in capital Colombo on Tuesday (18 August).

He said that all his teammates have introspected about their performances and the chances of committing mistakes in the next two matches were less.

“We will be putting double effort in this match and we have noted our short comings and will perform diligently. We are playing Test matches after a long time, which is why we made a few mistakes but we are positive about the next match. Our team morale is very high,” said Mishra.

India failed to find scoring opportunities, with first-innings centurion Shikhar Dhawan, unbeaten on 13 overninght, taking 36 balls to score his first run.

Backing batsmen of his team Mishra said that Indian cricket team has some of the finest batsmen.

“I believe that batsmen of our team are one of the best. They can play any ball; you must have seen that in the past. Sometimes what happens is that under pressure we lose a wicket or two but our batsmen can very well play a spin ball. We all make mistakes but that does not set a benchmark,” said Mishra.

Mishra, who is playing in the team after four years, said he was under pressure.

“No doubt I was anxious there, as I am playing after a couple of years. So, yes, I was under pressure, but I was confident as I had worked very hard for it. Moreover, I have played with all these players in the past so I was comfortable. All the players, including Virat Kohli, boosted my confidence too,” said Mishra.

India lost to host Sri Lanka by 63 runs in the opening Test match in Galle.

The second Test, the last for retiring Sri Lankan batting stalwart Kumar Sangakkara, will start on Thursday (August 20) at P Sara Oval in Colombo.