Sri Lanka vs India: 1st Test - Players ratings

Sri Lankans had the final smile

Dimuth Karunaratne – 0/10

Karunaratne could not make much of an impact with the bat. His score of nine and zero in both the innings made the job only easier for Indians. Needs to adjust quickly and score more runs. Has been rated zero for zero contribution to the Sri Lankan victory.

Kaushal Silva – 3/10

Silva’s performance was unbecoming of an opener. Silva might be a bright prospect for Sri Lanka, he boasts of a high batting average of 47 in first class. He is only 20-Test matches old on the international level and probably needs a few more games to get into his grove. Sri Lanka should stick with this batsman.

Lahiru Thirimanne – 4/10

He was dismissed in a similar fashion by the spinners in both the innings. First by Ashwin and then by Mishra, caught by Rahane twice. Thirimanne needs to pitch in with the bat to avoid the situation in which Sri Lanka found itself after the first innings.

Kumar Sangakkara – 6/10

A lot was expected from this veteran. He was dismissed cheaply in the first innings by an Ashwin delivery which help up a bit on the pitch. Sanga tried to punch it on the backfoot, only managing to give a catch to the silly point. In the second innings, he, along with Angelo Matthews steadied the ship for Sri Lanka. But, more is expected from his left-hander who will retire after the second match of this series.

Angelo Mathews – 9/10

He has to be credited for keeping his players motivated and instilling in them the belief that game is not over till its over. He still came out to field despite suffering from the flue. He is an inspiration to the upcoming Lankan players. He was the highest scorer in the first innings for Sri Lanka and played a key role in stabilising the second innings after Lanka lost its openers for ducks in quick succession.

Jehan Mubarak – 5/10

Jehan missed his half century just by one run. After scoring zero in the first innings, this veteran fought valiantly to help Sri Lanka post an unassailable lead of 176 for the visitors. Played well against the spinners.

Dinesh Chandimal – 10/10

Dinesh Chandimal was the man who snatched this sure shot victory from Indians. Indian bowlers need to bowl with a plan to this batsman-wicketkeeper. His score of 59 and 162*- not out that too against the Indian spinners should give him a lot of confidence. With this performance, he has become the first wicket-keeper to score 2000 runs in just 22 games. These are ominous signs for the young talent. He toyed with the bowling with his textbook strokes. He should be the player to watch for Indians in next couple of games.

Dhammika Prasad – 0/10

He failed to get off the mark in the first innings. Prasad picked up just one odd wicket in the match and failed both with bat and ball. He got out LBW in the first innings and was caught by Rahane off Aaron in the second. No marks for these figures.

Rangana Herath – 9/10

Rangana looked off color in the first innings. He is the most experienced of the Sri Lankan bowlers. Ranagana looked like he had some issue with his back and was bowling bereft of any energy and vigour. He went wicketless in the spinning conditions which allowed Indians to bat freely in the first innings.

But one can say that the turn around for Sri Lankans was led by this stocky bowler. He ended up taking seven wickets in the second innings to restrict Indians 64 runs short of the target. Rangana’s eco-rate was also just a shade above 2, that too after bowling 21 overs on the last day.

Tharindu Kaushal – 8/10

Kaushal’s five-wicket haul of the first innings included the key wickets of Rahane and Kohli. Even in the second innings he smashed the hopes of Indian recovery by getting the Indian skipper cheaply for just 3 runs and Dhawan for just 28 runs.

Nuwan Pradeep – 6/10

Pradeep picked up three wickets in the first innings including the prized scalp of centurion Dhawan.