India’s hopes of completing a 2-0 Test series sweep in Sri Lanka totally disappeared after a demanding final-day battle at the SSC ended without the breakthrough they desperately needed. India gave it all into their pursuit of victory, but they had to settle for a 1-0 series win after everything worked against them. The Indian men needed wickets to have sufficient time for themselves for a challenging run chase; moreover, the weather remained an ever-present threat. In order to force a result, India even chose to enforce the follow-on — a decision captain Shubman Gill has no reason to regret.
"They played very well. Their batsmen played really well. Generally when you play on days three, four and five, what we believed (was) that the mode of dismissals – lbw and bowled was completely out of the game because the balls that were turned, they were turning with a slower bounce. So there is only one mode of dismissal left if batsmen are defending, that is slip-on short leg or slip,” Gill said at the press conference.
"In such a situation, we attacked a lot initially, but we were also under a little bit of pressure. Then we made a brief comeback. But I think the pitch just kept getting slower. It is not as though the ball didn't turn, but the wickets were not in play at all. As a batsman, when you know these two modes of dismissal are not in play, batting becomes a little easier, especially when you are not looking to score runs."
"We tried our best. They also played really well. It is not as though the pitch was very flat. So they deserve the credit for playing really well. On day four we created chances and momentum; if we could have got one or more wickets, then maybe the result would have been different."
Gill's reasoning was straightforward. At the moment India made that call, there was no guarantee that the final day would provide a full day's play. Rain had repeatedly interrupted the series, making every available hour precious. On the other hand, Sri Lanka batters remained resolute in their efforts, making Indian bowlers toil hard and secure a draw.
"I wouldn't say follow-on has backfired here. We fielded for over 250 overs. They bowled around 130 overs. We were anticipating (rain), we didn't know whether there would be play on days four and five, and we wanted to take that chance. The question was, should we wait for one-and-a-half sessions on day four and give them the target of about 400, or should we make them follow on and chase down 100 swiftly? We felt more comfortable in chasing down because then you can do it according to the time left,” Gill said.
"If we hadn't enforced the follow-on and if it had rained, you would have asked again why we didn't enforce the follow-on when you know how much rain has been around. All this is hindsight. You have to take the best decision possible at that time in that situation. I don't think it backfired. They played really well. Some things didn't go our way."