Team India’s seven takeaways from the series win in Sri Lanka

Test series wins are prized and if you can accomplish it outside your comfort zone, then it’s even sweeter to the palate. India won the series 2-1, their first overseas series win in four years. Amidst all the media hounding, Virat Kohli and his colleagues have shown the mettle and stood the test of time to surpass the Lankan test. For the first time out of the country, India have managed to win a series coming from behind. Ankit Banerjee and Suvajit Mustafi pick seven takeaways that will help the team improve as they take on bigger opponents in the near future.

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1.  Slip cordon looks sorted

In their previous tours, Indian fielding in the slip-cordon has been pretty mediocre and plenty of chances have been put down. You don’t win Tests if you put down sitters. It wasn’t that all catches were caught in Sri Lanka but the standards have surely gone up. Filling Rahul Dravid’s shoes in slips is no mean task but Ajinkya Rahane has shown that he is learning the right things from his mentor. In the first Test at Galle, Rahane got the world record of eight catches in a match. Man-of-the-series Ravichandran Ashwin too thanked the fielders for grabbing all the opportunities. [Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane’s world record: How He Achieved It]

2.  The rise of Amit Mishra as an all-rounder

Had Karn Sharma been fit, Amit Mishra might have not made it to the squad. A veteran now, Mishra made it count. It was quite soothing to see Mishra pick wickets on a canter and the chip in meaty way with the bat.  Along with 15 wickets at 15, he also scored 157 runs in the entire series at 26.16. Along with Ashwin, Mishra can be a more than effective all-rounder for India in sub-continental conditions. He also compliments Ashwin’s off-breaks as well, lending variety to the attack.

3.  Wriddhiman Saha rests his case

There has been a prolonged debate over the wicketkeeper’s slot since Mahendra Singh Dhoni called it quits. The BCCI had a genuine migraine but with Wriddhiman Saha slamming two crucial under pressure half centuries in the series has justified the team management’s faith in him. His keeping was never an issue. Due to an injury, he couldn’t play the final Test and Naman Ojha proved to be a more than capable replacement for him.

4.  Pujara, the grinder

An innings that would have made Rahul Dravid proud, best known as The Wall’s shadow, Chesteshwar Pujara who was out of favour in the first two Tests bounced back with one of the finest knocks of recent times. Making it to the side owing to an injury to Murali Vijay, Pujara in hostile batting conditions stood up to the test, like only he can, leaving the late seaming balls and grinding it out there with the tail to set up the deciding Test. Battling for over seven and half hours, Pujara scored an unbeaten 145 to be only the fourth Indian to carry his bat in an innings in Test cricket history. [Also Read: Cheteshwar Pujara’s hundred mocks at the team management for protecting Rohit Sharma]

5.  Ishant Sharma comes of age

For a man who has played over eight years of international cricket, it’s fair to say that Ishant Sharma has underachieved. Better late than never, Ishant in this series, showed that he had the maturity to lead the pace battery. He was not looking to bowl fast, like he often did in the past. In this series he was hitting the right spots, just back of a length in the corridor of uncertainty, which bugged the Lankan batsman no ends. He picked up 13 wickets and scalped eight wickets in the decider to help India win in style. Ishant needs to harness the newfound aggression. [Also Read: Ishant Sharma becomes the fourth Indian pacer to enter the 200-wicket club]

6.  India knows the importance of DRS

The loss at Galle was a tough pill to swallow and had it not been for the umpiring errors, India would have won. They had themselves to blame as their reluctance to use the Decision Review System (DRS) led to this. Post the Galle defeat; captain Kohli assured that the team would ponder over this. At least, the loss got them thinking over the technology that has resulted in more correct decisions in international cricket. [Also Read: Enough of DRS drama; India now needs to look beyond]

7.  Finally, Captain Kohli wins

Ever since the mantle passed over to him, many have doubted if Kohli is the right man to take India ahead. Though Kohli’s bat did all the talking, results didn’t come in the first four Tests that he led. However, he turned things around and came back from behind to win this series. Kohli was in a decent touch with the bat, scoring a hundred and a fifty, and later with the captain’s cap on, he marshalled him troops in a commendable way.

However this victory should not get to their head. The climb to the top ranking spot is a long one. It was a good start in order to fine-tune the skills for greater challenges ahead.

(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sportsmarketer , strategist, entrepreneur,  philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)