The all-rounder finished with the match figures of 9/87 to guide India to a massive victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test match.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (175 not out and 9/87) continued to impress on Day 3 of the first Test to bundle out Sri Lanka to 178 runs in their follow-on innings and guide India to a massive win by an innings and 222 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Sunday. India, thus, took a comfortable 1-0 lead in the series. Enforced to follow on, trailing by 400 runs after being bundled out to 174 runs in the first innings, Sri Lanka lost their opener Lahiru Thirimane (0) in the third over. His opening partner and captain Dimuth Karunaratne (27), meanwhile, failed to convert his start into a resilient knock.
Incoming batter Pathum Nissanka (6) also failed to add much to the cause while Angelo Mathews (28), Dhananjaya de Silva (30) and Charith Asalanka (20) chipped in with cameo knocks but failed to withstand the formidable India bowling attack.
Senior wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella (51 not out), however, showed some positive intent for the visitors but he failed to get support from the lower-order batters — Suranga Lakmal (0), Suranga Lakmal (2), Vishwa Fernando (0) and Lahiru Kumara (4) — as they fell like a pack of cards.
Dickwella’s resilient knock of 81 deliveries not only showed his cautious approach but also was laced with nine boundaries to the fence.
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Spin twins Ravindra Jadeja (4/46) and Ravichandran Ashwin (4/47) ran through the visitors batting line-up and picked up wickets at regular interval of time to disallow them to form any major partnership in the follow-on innings.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, scalped two wickets to help their cause.
Earlier, resuming the day on 108/4, Asalanka (29) was the first wicket to fall while Pathum Nissanka (61 not out) continued to fightback for the visitors. He notched up 11 boundaries in his cautious knock of 133 deliveries but failed to get support from the other end — Dickwella (2), Lakmal (0), Embuldeniya (0), Fernando (0), Kumara (0) — as a number of visiting batters were sent packing by Jadeja without even opening the scoring.
Jadeja (5/41), thus, returned his 10th five-wicket haul in the longest format of the game and was well supported with a couple of wickets from Ashwin and pace-ace Jasprit Bumrah while Shami also scalped a wicket.
The second match of the Test series will get underway on Saturday at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.