Sri Lanka's Sonal Dinusha is congratulated by the India's team members at the end of the day five of the second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.
com in Colombo: With the handshake looming, Shubman Gill introduced himself into the attack. Judging by their body language, India had already checked out of the fixture with Sri Lanka's lead over 200 runs and little time remaining.
A result in India's favour was almost out of the equation and the visitors were waiting for the formalities to be completed. Yashasvi Jaiswal was introduced from the other end, and even Dhruv Jurel rolled his arm over as the writing was on the cards.
India would rue drawing a Test they were in a very good position of winning, squandering the opportunity to bolster their World Test Championship (WTC) final chances. Sometimes, draws feel like wins and Sri Lanka must have a similar feeling in Colombo.
With chips down and backs to the wall, Sonal Dinusha produced a performance for the ages, who had an equally stubborn lower-order for company. He has been the rockstar for the hosts in this series and made India dance to his tunes when he battled for close to two days to eke out a hard-fought draw.
The 25-year-old's sequence of scores in the series read 100, 84, 103 and 133*, and across the four innings his compact technique, composure and solid temperament stood out. It wasn't easy; whenever he came out to bat, the team was in a spot of bother and he mostly had the lower-order and tail for company.
In the second Test alone, he spent nearly 147 overs out in the middle, facing 71 overs, frustrating the visitors and keeping the win out of their reach. It didn't help that Mohammed Siraj wasn't running in with the steam he would have liked and the pitch offered turn but not enough threat.
The tone was set by the pair of Keshara Nuwantha and Dinusha for over 40 overs and the former ended up playing 150 deliveries in the process. Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando followed the drill and India just carried on in hopes of things miraculously falling into place.
The 116th over of the Sri Lankan innings was significant in more ways than one. Siraj patiently waited to bowl as Sarfaraz Khan suggested field changes to Shubman Gill before the fast bowler began.
The short-ball trap was set. After trying it for two deliveries, which Sonal Dinusha ducked safely, the bowler walked up to the stumps and flipped the bails.
