India vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test at Kolkata, Nov 16 2017, Sri Lanka tour of India

RESULT
1st Test, Eden Gardens, November 16 - 20, 2017, Sri Lanka tour of India
172 & 352/8d
(T:231) 294 & 75/7

Match drawn

Player Of The Match
4/88 & 4/8
bhuvneshwar-kumar
Match centre 
Scores: Chandan Duorah | Comms: Shashank Kishore
Scorecard summary
India 172/10(59.3 overs)
1st INNINGS
Sri Lanka 294/10(83.4 overs)
1st INNINGS
4/100 (26.3)
India 352/8(88.4 overs)
2nd INNINGS
104* (119)
3/76 (22)
3/93 (24.4)
Sri Lanka 75/7(26.3 overs)
2nd INNINGS

Phew. What an end to this Test. Lot of time lost to rain. This was effectively a three-day Test. Gosh, give me this day in and day out. More fun than watching your favourite batsmen stack up triple hundreds for fun. That exhibition of swing bowling from India and Lakmal is my moment of 2017. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, it's goodbye from me, Shashank Kishore, and Alagappan Muthu. Cheers. Be well, Eden Gardens. Over to you, Jamtha.

Meanwhile, here's the pick of last week's stories from our sister site ESPN.in: wrestler Sushil Kumar's farcical comeback at the nationals, Dimitar Berbatov forgettable ISL debut, Saina Nehwal's nemesis and more.

Time for the presentation

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the Player of the Match for his match haul of eight wickets. "Frankly speaking, it was tougher to bowl in the second innings as the surface was a lot drier," he says. "But the ball was reversing, so that helped. When I made my debut, I was totally dependent on swing. International circuit tells you what you need to improve on. I worked hard on my fitness and that is paying off. We believed we could win. Virat said 'Imagine we're in this situation overseas. If we get two-three wickets early, it won't be easy for them.'

Virat Kohli: It was important to make something out of the game with whatever time we had. Conditions changed drastically over the five days. We had to show character, having been on the backfoot on day one and day two. Credit to Sri Lanka. The team showed a lot of character. We didn't look at the batting collapse. We believed in our strengths. If you didn't have intent on this wicket, it would've been difficult to survive. That was the key. If we got enough good balls in the right areas, it would've been tough. All in all, we're proud of how we finished.

Kohli On Bhuvneshwar: his bowling has picked up pace, his ball is heavier than what it used to be. He grabs his chances every time he comes into the team. He's a massive contender to start in every Test for India, he'll be a vital part of our plans, especially overseas. As soon as we lost Wriddhi, me and Bhuvi started having fun. It was important to take our minds of the situation and the shots started coming off. Luckily they took the new ball. I decided, if we don't show intent, there may not be much to offer. So yeah, that helped. (50 international hundreds) feels good. It hasn't been a long journey yet. If I can step up and perform, that will give me more pleasure than thinking of the number of hundreds I have. That will remain the mindset till I play this game.

Dinesh Chandimal: In these kind of conditions, toss was crucial. We fought hard and competed well. Till the last session, we fought well and played as a team. Unfortunately, the last 10-15 overs brought a lot of pressure but we played good cricket and competed well. Lakmal is unbelievable, especially over the last one or two years. He's one who you can trust as a captain. Rangana scoring runs (laughs), he's a fighter, unfortunately spinners couldn't come into the game. We'll have to learn how to battle, especially in the second innings. In UAE also, we didn't bat well in the second innings against Pakistan. If we can do that, we can do a lot better.

Mahela Jayawardena tweets: Enjoyed @NiroshanDikka attitude and antics this afternoon. Good test match.. well played @imVkohli. Looking forward to the next one.

VVS Laxman: Inspite of rain washing out more than 180 overs,this was Test Match Cricket at it's best. Bhuvi and Shami were simply outstanding. Was a delight to watch an exhibition of top class bowling.

For the first time ever in India, the home spinners didn't pick a wicket in a Test. Amazing, isn't it?

If you're just joining us, you can dig into Nikhil Kalro's bulletin

Mohammed Shami: We had to put in the extra effort because time was less. The public also enjoyed it, I think. We were sure we'd be successful if we hit the right areas. In the first two days, it was bad for us. This is my home ground, so I knew if the sun comes out, the wicket will ease out. Hard luck that the sun went down early today. As I've played, I've gained a lot of experience and confidence. I continue to learn a lot from the ex players, who have given me the support.

4.30pm Virat Kohli's special century, his 50th in international cricket, brought the fire back for India after they slumped. There will be discussion and debates whether India had a case to declare earlier than they did, but there may not be much steam to that, because it was really the Kohli blitzkrieg after Saha's dismissal that helped India set the game up in the first place.

4.28pm Nigel Llong and Joel Wilson converge to check the light reading. They've had enough. They're going off, and the match is drawn. The light reading was set on the first day, so that is the benchmark they've to go by. Sri Lanka can breathe a sigh of relief. This has been a sensational display of fast bowling from India to bring life into a game that many assumed was dead when India declared with 30 overs and a bit to bowl potentially. The light you see on your TV screen is a lot brighter than it actually is. Artificial lights, for some reason, isn't considered good enough for red-ball cricket. And so, that's that. Sri Lanka, who were ahead in this Test for most parts of the five days, including at various stages today, will feel as if they've gotten out of jail. What a Test, what a finish. Three wickets, three deliveries. Sri Lanka will go to Nagpur 0-0 after they entertained prospects of a first Test win in India.

26.3
Shami to Shanaka, no run

late inswing but he somehow manages to defend it back down despite being overbalanced

26.2
Shami to Shanaka, no run

gets half forward and keeps out this incoming length ball without much hassle

26.1
Shami to Shanaka, no run

back of length on off stump, defended

end of over 26Wicket maiden
SL: 75/7CRR: 2.88 
Rangana Herath0 (4b)
Dasun Shanaka6 (14b 1x4)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 11-8-8-4
Mohammed Shami 9-4-34-2

Sri Lanka's physio comes in to attend to Rangana, but he's been sent off. Chandimal sheepishly smiles in the dressing room, knowing well it may just be to delay things

25.6
Bhuvneshwar to Herath, no run

just about manages to jam his bat down in time to keep out that fast and furious yorker that was headed to the base of middle stump. Woah, woah, woah. Why, sun? Why? Why couldn't you stay out for longer?

Chandimal gestures saying he can't see. Nigel Llong brings out the light meter

25.5
Bhuvneshwar to Herath, no run

right behind the line of this short of length ball as he defends

Bhuvi is actually sprinting back to his run up

25.4
Bhuvneshwar to Herath, no run

swung away late, quite a long way too, as Herath watches this angle though to the keeper

25.3
Bhuvneshwar to Herath, no run

bunts this full delivery into the off side.

Rangana, at 39, has to now save this game. Made a courageous half-century in the first innings. Now, he walks out to real pressure against fading light. Eden roars. What drama.

25.2
W
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, OUT

this is a ripper of a delivery. The leg stump talks a royal walk. Sri Lanka lose their seventh. The look of disbelief on their faces tell you a story. This is angled in full from wide of the crease, pitches and jags away just a wee bit to beat Dilruwan's tentative push to cannon into the top of off. As a captain, you can't ask for a better delivery than that from your fast bowler. Sensational

Dilruwan Perera b Kumar 0 (7b 0x4 0x6 10m) SR: 0
25.1
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

plays inside the line of this zippy length ball though to the keeper

Sandeep: "Amidst all this chaos, how is the light?" Going down very quickly

end of over 256 runs
SL: 75/6CRR: 3.00 
Dasun Shanaka6 (14b 1x4)
Dilruwan Perera0 (5b)
Mohammed Shami 9-4-34-2
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-7-8-3
24.6
Shami to Shanaka, no run

firmly driven but Bhuvneshwar does well at extra cover to cut off what could've been four. Talk about saving 40 seconds

24.5
Shami to Shanaka, no run

jaffa! Just held its line to beat the outside edge. This was floated full outside off from wide of the crease

24.4
Shami to Shanaka, no run

full and just outside off, he lets it go

24.3
4
Shami to Shanaka, FOUR runs

this is a juicy half-volley and he's flicked this off the pads to the midwicket boundary.

Five slips remain but there's now an orthodox backward point

24.2
2
Shami to Shanaka, 2 runs

shows the full face of the bat to ease this down past mid-on, Pujara pulls it back in. First runs in 26 balls

24.1
Shami to Shanaka, no run

full and straight around off stump, Shanaka is overbalanced but manages to defend

end of over 24Wicket maiden
SL: 69/6CRR: 2.87 
Dilruwan Perera0 (5b)
Dasun Shanaka0 (8b)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-7-8-3
Mohammed Shami 8-4-28-2
23.6
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

thick outside edge rolls to Ashwin at gully

23.5
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

full and outside off, this one moves away, left alone

23.4
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

gets outside the line of the stumps, well forward as he defends

23.3
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

excellent bouncer, right into his body from wide of the crease, Dilruwan somehow manages to get out of the way

23.2
Bhuvneshwar to Perera, no run

this ball jags back in a long way from outside off to hit Dilruwan on the back leg. He was also well forward. The question is if it did enough to miss the stumps, because even if it was just clipping, the decision will stay with the onfield umpire. Hawkeye shows that would've gone over. Decision reversed

Five slips and a short point under the helmet

Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
V Kohli
104 runs (119)
12 fours2 sixes
Productive shot
off drive
24 runs
1 four2 sixes
Control
86%
S Dhawan
94 runs (116)
11 fours2 sixes
Productive shot
cover drive
20 runs
3 fours0 six
Control
95%
Best performances - bowlers
B Kumar
O
11
M
8
R
8
W
4
ECO
0.72
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W
1W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
1W
RAS Lakmal
O
19
M
12
R
26
W
4
ECO
1.36
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
2W
1W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
Match details
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
TossSri Lanka, elected to field first
Series
Season2017/18
Player Of The Match
Series result3-match series level 0-0
Match numberTest no. 2281
Hours of play (local time)09.30 start, Lunch 12.00-12.40, Tea 14.40-15.00, Close 16.30
Match days16,17,18,19,20 November 2017 - day (5-day match)
Umpires
TV Umpire
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
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Sri Lanka Innings
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