Can India continue their 11-year unbeaten streak against Sri Lanka in Tests?
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After a dominant win at Galle in the first Sri Lanka vs India Test, Shubman Gill’s men will now be looking to grab another 30 crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points in the second Test at SSC Colombo.
India now need 7 wins out of their remaining 8 matches to make it to the WTC final. Sri Lanka’s loss, however, puts them nearly out of the WTC final race, as they now need 6 out of 6 wins to keep their hopes alive, while also depending on other results.
Winning the toss and batting first, India scored a massive 462 runs on what was a good batting pitch for the first two days. That was largely to Devdutt Padikkal, who, in just his third Test, hit a mammoth 167 runs. He was assisted by KL Rahul, who scored a brilliant 82.
In response, Sri Lanka only managed 284, with Sonal Dinusha’s 100 and the returning Niroshan Dickwella’s 80. The third-best score was 27. Although the hosts came back strongly with the ball in the second innings, a target of 372 runs on a turning Galle pitch was always an impossible task.
India’s Manav Suthar ran riot with his left-arm spin, claiming a 10-fer in the match, including three wickets in one over to wrap up the game on day five. Had Sri Lanka hung around a little while longer, they could’ve gotten out with a draw, as rain came pouring down minutes after the match concluded.
Already missing Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka have now also lost Dinesh Chandimal to injury. India, on the other hand, should be happy going in with the same team, though they might consider giving Saransh Jain a look, as Kuldeep Yadav looked very off-colour in Galle.
Read on to find out how to watch the Sri Lanka vs India test series from wherever you are, including free options.
Cricket fans in India and Sri Lanka that haven't yet cut the cord are in luck!
In India, the match is available for free on DD Sports but only for DD Free Dish viewers. DD Free Dish is Prasar Bharati’s free-to-air DTH service that requires a compatible DD Free Dish set-top box and dish antenna.
Likewise, in Sri Lanka, the match is free-to-air on Siyatha TV.
Cord-cutters in Australia, meanwhile, have a sneaky trick they can use to watch the Test match live: Kayo Sports offers a 7-day free trial to new users, letting you catch all five days of action live and free.
Outside any of these countries right now? No worries, you can still stream the action by using a VPN. More details below…
If you're keen to watch cricket but you're away from home and your preferred coverage is geo-blocked, you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.