Statistical wrap of Sri Lanka vs India: Away wins, young captains and opening troubles

India won the three-match series against Sri Lanka coming from behind to erase a 1-0 deficit, thus ending a 22-year draught of a series-win in Sri Lanka.

The scoreline of 2-1 does not actually show the kind of dominance India enjoyed right through the series. Barring a few sessions India were always in the driving seat. In the first Test at Galle at lunch on the third day Sri Lanka were still behind India’s first innings total with only 5 second innings wickets remaining. Ravi Ashwin was looking unplayable and the match looked set to be over on the third day - in India’s favour.

Then, the tide turned. Dinesh Chandimal stunned the visitors with his daredevil batting in the post-tea session. Buoyed by the fact that he had nothing to lose, Chandimal’s unorthodox batting rattled the Indians. By the time Indian bowlers managed to wind up the Sri Lankan tail, the hosts had got something to bowl to.

The fact that no side had ever chased down a target of 100 in the fourth innings at Galle played on the minds of Indians and they became over-cautious, landing themselves in a hole that could not dig out of. Rangana Herath led Sri Lanka to an unexpected win soon after lunch on day four.

The young Indian side took the reversal in its stride and made a strong comeback in the second Test. Riding on splendid batting from Lokesh Rahul (first innings) and Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane (second innings) India set Sri Lanka a daunting fourth innings target of 413 runs.

In Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell Test, the Sri Lankan batsmen had no answer to the spin duo of Ravi Ashwin and Amit Mishra, as they accounted for 8 second innings wickets and led India to their second biggest win in an overseas Test (by runs margin).

India lost the toss in the series-decider and had to bat first on a fresh, green track. It was left to Cheteshwar Pujara to steady the Indian ship after the Sri Lankan seamers ran through top-order. The opener found an able aide in Mishra and the two brought respectability to the Indian total with a century stand.

Pujara became only the fourth Indian to carry his bat through a complete innings. Sri Lanka got into early trouble, but debutant Kusal Perera rescued Lanka with a half century. India managed a 111-run lead, but were again rocked and it was only the late-order flourish that ensured India’s lead went past 380.

And Once again Sri Lankan openers did not contribute anything to the team’s cause. It was only the sixth wicket partnership between captain Angelo Mathews and Kushal Perera that offered some resistance. These two defied Indian bowlers by putting on a century-plus stand but there was always an element of inevitability to their resistance. Once this partnership was broken, Indian bowlers did not need much time in taking the remaining wickets, and completing a memorable series-win.

This is India’s only second win in Sri Lanka since 1993 and first away series against any country since beating West Indies 1-0 in West Indies in 2011. This is also India’s only 16th series win outside India.

The complete list:

Summary of India’s away series wins:

In India’s 247 away Tests, India have won 40 Tests, losing 106 and drawing 101 with a win percentage that stands at 15.57%. The total number of series wins away from home stands at 16 now after the triumph in Sri Lanka. Complete list of away series wins:

4 in Bangladesh 3 in England 3 in West Indies 2 in New Zealand 2 in Sri Lanka 1 in Pakistan 1 in Zimbabwe

Down but not out:

Virat Kohli is the first Indian captain to win a series from behind outside India. It has been achieved twice before on home soil. Of course, who can forget the remarkable series against Australia in 2001 - the VVS Laxman-Harbhajan Singh series.

The details of the comeback wins.

The power of youthful leadership:

Virat Kohli is now the the youngest Indian captain to win a series outside India, taking the record from Tiger Pataudi.

The details:

A series dominated by the ball

A series in which batsmen struggled for consistency - largely due to the quality of the pitches on offer and lack thereof on facing good spin or seam bowling by the inexperienced batsmen on both sides. How do the two sides compare?

The partnership comparison between the two sides makes for interesting reading - very light at the top and heavy at the middle.

The opening stands in the series from both sides read as: 15,14,0,12, 4,1,3,8, 2,11,0 and 1 – a total of just 71 runs at an average of 5.91. This is the lowest average opening stand in Test history in a series of three matches or more.

The details:

This Sri Lanka- India series witnessed a very interesting trend. All the three Tests were won by the side defending the fourth innings target. In the previous series on Sri Lankan soil (Sri Lanka vs Pakistan) all the three Tests were won by the side chasing the fourth innings target.