Despite dominating the 2nd Test for the major part, India were denied victory in Colombo thanks to a defiant century from Sonal Dinusha whose unbeaten effort in combination with some impressive resistance shown by the Sri Lankan lower order forced the contest to end in a draw on Thursday. While India may rue the chance of missing out on full 12 points, their head coach Gautam Gambhir is happy with the way his players showed fought.
“Test cricket needs character, patience and mental toughness that’s shown by our boys!” Gambhir said in a post on X.
He reserved special praise for Dinusha who scored a century in each of the innings and became the first Sri Lankan batter to do so in Tests since 1997.
“Special shoutout to Sonal Dinusha for his exceptional
performance!” Gambhir added.
Test cricket needs character, patience and mental toughness that’s shown by our boys! Special shoutout to Sonal Dinusha for his exceptional performance! pic.twitter.com/zu8pNKt5pU
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 28, 2026
The result saw India take the two-match series 1-0, but the visitors were left frustrated after failing to complete what had appeared to be a likely victory.
India had declared their first innings on 503/9 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 290, taking a substantial first-innings lead and enforcing the follow-on.
Sri Lanka, however, produced a remarkable fightback in their second innings after losing six wickets with a lead of just 16 runs at the close of play on Day 4. Dinusha was at the heart of the fightback, hitting an unbeaten 133 to follow his first-innings century.
Dinusha’s marathon effort, combined with crucial resistance from Keshara Nuwantha and the lower order, ensured Sri Lanka reached 429/9 before they declared and the two teams shook hands late into the fifth day.
The result has dented India’s chances of making it to the ICC World Test Championship final as they remain static at the fifth spot.
However, their captain Shubman Gill is optimistic about the team’s chances even though they must win at least six of their remaining seven Tests that include two in New Zealand later this year and a five-match home series against Australia in early 2027 to make it to the title clash.
