The moment of the series for Sri Lanka was not even one of their making.
Jasprit Bumrah, having blasted through the defences of Suranga Lakmal to knock over his stumps, continued running down the pitch and halted the departing batsman, putting an arm around him and hugging him. Moments later the entire Indian team had reached Lakmal, offering congratulations on a career well played.
Lakmal, who played 69 Tests for 170 wickets, announced that this series against India would be his last as he has agreed to join Derbyshire in English county cricket.
The Indian team’s gesture had an immediate effect: the entire crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium were on their feet, giving Lakmal a standing ovation. Players often suggest that they are unfairly burdened with being role models, especially with their on-field behaviour, but here in a heartbeat was evidence of just how much sway they held over those who watch the team.
The final day of the series was also Sri Lanka’s best. Kusal Mendis, returning to the Test team after being banned for a bio-bubble breach, was plucky at No.3. The compact right-hand batsman was once touted as the next big thing, but he has struggled to establish himself as a player who can consistently make a difference, even after 47 Tests.
On the day, Mendis took a positive approach from the word go, and this helped immensely because the usually steady Dimuth Karunaratne was a touch shaky. The pitch was still doing enough for the spinners, variable bounce allied with turn making it difficult for batsmen to stay in control of their shots.
And yet, Mendis played a range of shots, from the hard sweep to the lob over midwicket to the cover drive, but just as he was shaping up nicely, he gave Ashwin the charge, on 54, and was beaten by the ball that went away with the angle to be smartly stumped.
If Mendis was half a bright spot for Sri Lanka, Karunaratne went the whole hog, getting to an accomplished century on a difficult pitch against a varied, high-quality attack. But even these two positives could not avert a 238-run loss and a 2-0 serious clean sweep.
Sri Lanka have never won a Test match in India, but this is perhaps the first time they have toured and not even looked like challenging India. The one straw they can grasp is that this is still a relatively young team, and players are growing into their roles and trying to lift the team. On the flip side, they do not lack experience, and had more Test caps between them than the Indian team, especially after the exit of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. This suggests that the players who are being invested in are not the quickest learners, which makes it difficult for the coaching staff and the captain.
To understand this better, look at the growth of Rishabh Pant, the player of the series, in a short period. When he entered the international scene, he had the talent, the big shots and the fearlessness. But, to this, he has added patience, improved shot selection and situational awareness, making him one of the most dangerous batters in the world, on any surface.
Even more heartwarming is that Pant has gone from ordinary to brilliant behind the stumps. This can only happen through hard work.
Sri Lanka will hope that the players they have invested in, can put in a similar effort, and take their game to the next level, sooner rather than later.
BRIEF SCORES
India 252 (Iyer 92; Jayawickrama 3/81, Embuldeniya 3/94) and 303/9 dec. (Iyer 67, Pant 50; Jayawickrama 4/78) beat Sri Lanka 109 (Mathews 43; Bumrah 5/24) and 208 (Karunaratne 107, Mendis 54; Ashwin 4/55, Bumrah 3/23) by 238 runs