New Delhi: It is history before India's historic 70. 85 years! It took 85 years for Team India to feel the joy of winning a complete overseas Test series. Praiseworthy, applauding, commendable. It is all at once as Virat Kohli-lead Team India completed a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka at Pallekele, on Day 3 of the third Test match by an innings and 171 runs, thus becoming the first Indian Test squad to win a full Test series on foreign soil. ( IND vs SL, 3rd Test – As it happened || Full Coverage )
Sri Lanka resumed Day 3 action at 19 at the loss of one wicket. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne along with nightwatchman Malinda Pushpakumara stepped onto the field. Not much hope at their dug out, was it? Just the other day, they had crumbled down to mere 135 within few hours after India's massive 487-run target was put forth.
And Sri Lanka resolved to their poor batting. Ravichandran Ashwin struck first to dismiss the opener and then Mohammed Shami scalped two sending back Pushpakumara and then Kusal Mendis. Angelo Mathews stepped in next and along with skipper Dinesh Chandimal stitched a commendable 65-run partnership. Surviving through Kuldeep Yadav's deceptive googlies and a single DRS scare the duo headed in for lunch.
But it was only time. Kuldeep outfoxed the skipper when the ball kissed the inside edge of his bat and flew to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. Mathews fell victim to another DRS scare, with this time the decision not tilting his way. Ashwin figured 4/68, pacer Umesh Yadav too put the wicket-taking list as the jaded Sri Lankan side squandered down to mere 181. India won the match by an innings and 171 runs, thus clean sweeping the series by 3-0.
This is the first time that an Indian Test squad achieved this feat. Since their debut in the longer format of the game, back in 1932, Team India registered first historic overseas whitewash. Well, India was part of four such series where they had won all Test matches in it. Under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin, the team had clinched a 3-0 series win over England. The team went on to emulate the same against Sri Lanka in 1994. But both were on home soil. Even MS Dhoni-led side had outplayed the visiting Australian side in 2013 winning all four Test matches and under Virat Kohli, the team won all the three Test matches they played against New Zealand last year. But as mentioned earlier, all such victories were scripted on home soil.
Rewinding back to 1986, Kapil Dev had led his side to a 2-0 win over the English team in a three-match away series, but again it wasn't a complete series win. Such had even happened a year ago when Virat Kohli and his men visited West Indies. The registered a win in two matches while the other two were whitewashed. Ergo, India still hadn't won a complete overseas Test series, up until today.
Considering two-match-Test series on foreign soil, the Men in Blue did win over the Bangladesh in 2004 and in 2009 and had also thumped down Zimbabwe when they had flown down to the nation back in 2005.
India is now the team to win the most number of Test matches in Sri Lanka. They have nine such victories to their name. Adding to it, this was Team India's fifth consecutive Test victory over the Sri Lankan side, and all came under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. And for the skipper, this was his 19th Test win which makes him second on the list of most wins by a captain after his first 29 Tests. Also, Kohli has now surpassed his predecessor MS Dhoni to become the second captain with most overseas Test wins as a skipper.
These were entertaining three weeks at Sri Lanka. Complete one-sided though, and India managed to take it through. They will now gear up for the ODI and T20I series with the first 50-over game to be played on August 20.
