India vs Sri Lanka: Big Galle Win Boosts WTC Prospects

India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs in Galle to take a 1-0 lead and climb to fifth in the WTC standings.

India vs Sri Lanka:India bolstered their chances of succeeding in the ICC World Test Championship when they won against Sri Lanka by 165 runs in the first Test played in Galle. By winning this match, India led in the two-match series by 1-0 and moved to the fifth place from sixth in the ICC World Test Championship table.The Indian team recently achieved success after giving a great all-round effort, where Manav Suthar played an important part for India in the final inning. Suthar scored his maiden 10-wicket haul in Test cricket that assisted India in defeating Sri Lanka. With the win, India's points percentage in the World Test Championship became 53.33,while Sri Lanka remained at sixth place with a points percentage of 33.33.

Manav Suthar Leads India's Bowling Attack

Looking to chase a tough total of 372 runs, Sri Lanka started Day 5 of the test match with expectations of taking it forward. The Sri Lankans had lost four wickets by Day 4 end, but their hopes remained alive with the help of a crucial partnership from Dhananjaya de Silva and Sonal Dinusha.Both batsmen added some runs in the middle order before Ravindra Jadeja finally ended this partnership by dismissing Dhananjaya de Silva in the first session.Suthar was dominant on that day as he got the control over the match. The youngster picked six wickets for just 55 runs in the second innings, getting his second six-wicket haul in Test cricket.He took ten wickets in the entire game and became one of the most important players behind the 165-run win for India. He dismissed the last four Sri Lankan batsmen to win the game.

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Sonal Dinusha Fights Back for Sri Lanka

In the chase, Sonal Dinusha gave Sri Lanka an aggressive fight. He scored 84 runs off 128 balls and tried to keep the batting side in the game after India had established a strong position for themselves.However, India's bowling side was able to break down the lower middle order of Sri Lanka. Once the partnership between the two batsmen was broken, India went close to winning the game.Vice-captain of India's team KL Rahul stated that their target for the last day was to take wickets as soon as possible."We were trying to take wickets as quickly as possible," KL Rahul said after the game.He further stated that once the partnership was broken, it gave India confidence to go past the lower middle order of Sri Lanka.

Devdutt Padikkal Named Player of the Match

In spite of the exceptional bowling performance by Suthar, the award for Player of the Match went to Devdutt Padikkal because of his amazing innings with the bat.Padikkal was able to score 167 runs in the first innings of India and then scored an additional 84 runs in the second innings. These innings by him were vital in ensuring that India dominated the Test match.India managed to accumulate 462 runs in their first innings which was mainly due to the great innings by Devdutt Padikkal and KL Rahul, who was able to score 82 runs. This big score helped India to apply pressure on Sri Lanka right from the beginning.

India Keep WTC Final Hopes Alive

The win has certainly boosted India in the World Test Championship race that is taking place currently. India had already tasted defeat in a home series of 2-0 against South Africa, so the win was definitely very valuable to them.The win has made sure that India is still in the hunt to make it to the World Test Championship Final at The Oval next year. With some more matches left in the current race, India will certainly try to better their points percentage.However, Sri Lanka would now have to perform much better in the second Test to draw the series.

Colombo Test to Decide Series

Both the teams will now move to Colombo for the second and last Test of the series. The second Test of the series will begin from August 23.With their strong show in Galle, India will come into the game with confidence, while Sri Lanka will try to come up with a fight on their own soil.Another series win will give India yet another boost in the WTC rankings and help them reach the final.