India clinched their first Test series victory on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years with an emphatic 117-run win over the hosts in the third and final cricket Test. After setting a daunting victory target of 386, India’s bowling department restricted Sri Lanka to 268 runs and won the Test match by a big margin of 117 runs. On an absorbing final day’s play, the visitors took two quick wickets in the morning session before Mathews (110) and debutant Kusal Perera (70) scripted a spirited fightback to frustrate the Indians.
Ashwin provided the vital breakthrough by picking Perera’s scalp. And Ishant Sharma dismissed the centurion Angelo Mathews in the first over with the second new ball.
VIDEO: India’s winning moment against Sri Lanka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0GsCIqwcMg
Indian captain Virat Kohli said that coming down from 1-0 after the first Test to winning the series 1-2 is a mighty achievement for the young team.
“Being 0-1 down was never easy,” he said. “I was told it had never been done before by us abroad, so we managed to create a bit of history.
“It feels nice, especially with such a young team early in our careers, to achieve a magnificent milestone and win a series here for the first time in 22 years.
Kohli also said that he is really proud of the boys and the attitude with which they played throughout the series.
“The attitude has been brilliant. That is why we are playing the kind of cricket we are playing. There are areas we want to improve on, but the number of bad sessions we had in the series were few. I am really proud of the boys.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the team for the historic series win.
Congratulations to the Indian Cricket Team for the historic series win against Sri Lanka. We are proud of the Team’s impressive performance.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2015
This series will give a lot of confidence to the young Indian team as Sri Lanka is a very tough team to beat at home.
