India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed happiness, after his side defeated Sri Lanka here at the Punjab Cricket Association, IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series on March 6, 2022.
Ravindra Jadeja proved to be the Player of the Match as he picked 9 wickets in total in addition to his 175* in the only innings India batted. He and Ashwin picked four wickets each as Sri Lanka managed just 174 and 178 in their two innings despite following on, while India piled up 574/8d.
India won the match by an innings and 222 runs within three days of the match.
"It was a good start. It was a great game of cricket from our perspective. We ticked all the boxes we wanted to. To be honest I didn't think it is going to be that kind of a Test match that would get over in three days. It was a good batting pitch, there was some turn and some assistance for the seamers as well. A lot of credit to the guys, they bowled very well in tandem, kept the pressure, and never made it easier for the Sri Lanka batsmen. We just ensured we applied pressure from both ends. Good signs for India cricket," said Rohit after the first Test ended.
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This match was also Virat Kohli’s 100th Test match albeit, he managed to score just 45 runs in his outing.
"Lot of performances, landmark Test match for Virat, and we wanted to come out here and win the Test first and foremost. It was heartening to see such big individual performances. No thought process, it was about making the most of the bowling options we have and we want to have other options as well. We wanted to make sure he (Jayant) gets some overs," he added.
Apart from Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin went past Kapil Dev’s record of 434 Test victims when he dismissed Charith Asalanka to make him his 435th victim.
He is now the second-highest Test wicket-taker for India behind Anil Kumble (619) and the ninth highest in the world, going past Sir Richard Hadlee (431) and Rangana Herath (433) in the list, apart from Dev.
The second Test between India and Sri Lanka will begin on March 12 and it will be a day-night Test to be played in Bengaluru.
(ANI inputs)
