India had Sri Lanka 218 for six in the follow-on innings, only 16 runs ahead, before Sri Lanka’s lower order saved the Test in Colombo. Sonal Dinusha finished unbeaten on 133 as Sri Lanka reached 429 for nine.

The draw gave India a 1–0 series win, but they had been one passage away from a 2–0 sweep when Sri Lanka lost their sixth wicket.

India enforce the follow-on

Sri Lanka were 290 all out, 213 behind, when Shubman Gill enforced the follow-on. Rain had already reduced the available time, and a second India innings would have used more overs.

The decision left India’s bowlers with a long workload. They fielded for 243.4 overs across Sri Lanka’s two innings before the lower order batted through the final stages.

Dinusha anchors Sri Lanka’s resistance

Dinusha had made 103 in Sri Lanka’s first innings. In the second, he had support from Pasindu Sooriyabandara’s 92 and Kamindu Mendis’s 55 before India reduced Sri Lanka from 209 for three to 218 for six.

Dinusha then batted through the rest of the match. Keshara Nuwantha made 46 from 150 balls, Lahiru Kumara faced 90 balls, and Dinusha’s unbeaten 133 occupied 264 deliveries.

India cannot take the last four wickets

India took three more wickets after the 218-for-six position. Manav Suthar removed Nuwantha, while Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Prabath Jayasuriya and later ended Kumara’s vigil. The final wicket did not arrive.

Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel were used as the frontline bowlers worked through long spells. India had created a winning position; Sri Lanka’s lower order had enough time to hold it off.

The series and WTC points

A World Test Championship win is worth 12 points and a draw is worth four. India left Sri Lanka with 16 of the 24 points available in the series rather than a 24-point sweep.

The scorecard’s key passage remains Sri Lanka’s recovery from 218 for six in the follow-on innings.