Team India enforced a follow-on against Sri Lanka on the penultimate day of the Colombo Test, holding a commanding position to seal the series 2-0.
Opting to bat, the visitors declared their first innings at 503/9, powered by centuries from Devdutt Padikkal (117) and Dhruv Jurel (115*).
In reply, Sri Lanka fell 13 runs short of avoiding the follow-on after being bowled out for 290. Debutant spinner Saransh Jain picked up the final two wickets in the morning session on Day 4.
Much of the credit, however, goes to pacer Prasidh Krishna, who dismantled the Sri Lankan top-order with a sharp three-wicket spell, drawing praise from former cricketer Mohammad Kaif for outshining Mohammed Siraj.
“I believe the fast bowlers have bowled well on this pitch, even the Sri Lankan fast bowlers, who took five wickets. Prasidh Krishna stuck to his natural length. He bowled fast, and you rarely see someone leave Siraj behind,” Kaif said on Sony Sports.
“Siraj is a senior bowler. He has played close to 45 Test matches, and this is Krishna’s ninth Test. However, on this tour, whether it’s pace or effort, I feel Krishna has looked ahead in all aspects in this series. The three wickets he picked up was special bowling, if we talk about this match,” he added.
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who was also part of the discussion panel, commended Krishna for changing his bowling angle and using short balls effectively.
“He got success only when he changed his angle in today’s first session. They made a game plan. After that, he stuck to the short ball. Back-of-length delivery is his speciality, but along with that, he used the bouncer well,” Pujara stated.
“That’s why he got two wickets with bouncers, and the one wicket we saw yesterday was from the six-to-eight-meter length, where he bowls more. So his bowling needs to be praised. It was a good spell yesterday, and he also bowled well today. However, he will have to bowl well tomorrow as well,” he remarked.
Having won the opening Test in Galle by 165 runs, Shubman Gill’s men are leading the two-match series 1-0. A 2-0 win in the island nation will revive India’s hopes of reaching the 2025-27 WTC final.
