India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Bengaluru, IND v SL, Mar 12 2022 - Match Result

6.17 pm Presentations out of the way, Rohit goes over and picks up the trophy for this series. A comprehensive win to finish off, with Sampath further confrming that Ashwin is the first bowler with 100 WTC wickets with that final scalp of Vishwa Fernando. India have ticked most boxes, not just in this Test, but in virtually every game in this domestic international season, that began in the aftermath of the debacle at the T20 World Cup. The team itself would be feeling a lot better after these last four months of toil. So that's that from us here in Bengaluru for now. On behalf of Chandan Duorah, Sidharth Monga and the rest of the team here at ESPNcricinfo, this is Debayan Sen signing off and hoping to see you soon with more cricket coverage in the time to come. Do remember that there's an intriguing Test happening in Karachi, and of course, the Women's World Cup is living up to every expectation of being an open contest. Goodbye.

Rohit Sharma: "It's been a good run, and I have enjoyed it personally and as a team. We wanted to achieve a few things as a team, and we have done that. We have seen Jadeja grow as a batter, and he seems to get better and better. He strengthens the team, and he's also improving as a bowler. And he's a gun fielder, so he is a complete package. Shreyas just carried on from where he left off in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. He seemed to carry that form into the Test series. He knew he was stepping into the big shoes of guys like Rahane and Pujara, but he has everything that he requires. He will be better now when he starts travelling. Rishabh seems to get better with each game that he plays. Especially in these conditions. We saw it in the England series (last year) and now. A couple of catches and stumpings showed how confident he is. (On Ashwin) It was personally my feeling (that he is an all-time great). Whenever we give him the ball, he comes up with match-winning performances. He's got a lot of years left in him. We have lots of occasions to look forward to. I have to ensure he's in a good mindspace. Pink-ball Tests are challenging. We never knew what it was like to play with the pink ball in India, but we are learning to make those adjustments. The crowd just makes it more special."

Sri Harsha Anug: "I thought Ashwin was the default choice for POS for all home series"

Rishabh Pant is the player of the series. Fair call, I think. Says: "As a cricketer you want to evolve. In the past, I have made a few mistakes, but I want to keep improving. My mindset is not the same, but it was a difficult pitch and I decided I had to attack the bowling early on. (On his keeping) I think it's more about confidence. I used to think too much about what I might miss. Now I am focusing on my process."

Shreyas Iyer is the player of the match. Says: "(On first innings knock) That wasn't my normal approach but when I saw other batters struggling, I knew I had to attack. I was just trying to be one step of the bowlers. When the tail came in, I was on 55 and I added 37 more, so I wasn't too bothered about missing out on a hundred. (Second innings) We were given a target, and I was in the mindset to play as many balls as possible. I have always dreamt about being a Test player for India and playing alongside the greats, and contributing at the highest level. I hope I can maintain that consistency in the time to come."

6.04 pm We will know soon, with the presentation underway. Karunaratne: "I would have been happier if we had won the match. Once I got in, I knew I could get a big one. As a team, we know we are a decent team. We didn't get enough good starts to capitalise. And as a bowling unit, we gave too many loose balls. (On Lakmal) One of the best I have see in my career. I am very happy for him that he's going to county cricket and I know he will do very well there as well."

Vignesh R: "POS: Pant, 3 impactful innings, which changed the course of the innings"

Anand : "Decent shouts both? Jaddu scored more runs than Iyer and took 12 wickets also. MoM Iyer, MoS Jaddu. Period. "

Amal: "Its Rohit's 4th consecutive series whitewash across formats since being a full time captain(albeit against WI and SL)" --- Certainly got off to the best possible start.

Azweer: "Player of the Series - Jadeja or Shreyas Iyer??" --- Decent shouts, both

"Who would be Man of the Match? Iyer for scoring twin fifties on a difficult pitch? or Bumrah for taking 8 wickets on a pitch with nature to support spinners more?" --- I would even throw in Rishabh Pant's name into the hat, Chinmay Jariwal. But we know this is a batter's game, where run aggregates matter. So it would probably have to be Iyer. To those suggesting Karunaratne, probably would have been better to argue his case if this had been a close contest!

RAKESH JHALANI: "Last four wickets for only 3 runs. which shows the resistance shown by the Shri Lankan captain. What an inning and what a fighter he is." --- Yes, this is a pitch where wickets do come in clumps. In fact, on the Cricinfo Hindi site, which I hope you all have checked out, I asked our expert Wasim Jaffer last night about whether the pitch had eased up a bit. He reckoned it was more a case of batters getting used to what needs to be done on it, than the pitch playing any better.

Axar Patel speaks to the broadcasters: "When playing besides these guys, I know I may not get many chances at picking wickets, but I try my best. I keep chatting with Ashwin bhai about what pace to bowl at. I bowl to my strengths and it takes me an over to figure out how to bowl on this surface. Would love to wish him (Ashwin) all the best for RR because we will miss our team bonding, but there's nothing we can do about it. Everybody knows Ash bhai is different, and there are no secrets. They also know what I do."

R Ashwin: "I haven't given it a thought about what I need to accomplish in this game. It was a challenge because we were coming off a red-ball game. This ball behaves differently. It's more of a priority for me to enjoy my spell. (On bowling) You have to understand the rhythm, the load-up, the jump, the amount of spin according to the pitch. For Axar, he probably doesn't require that much time. (Compared with Ahmedabad pink-ball Test) Ahmedabad was quicker and had a bit more bounce. When I was getting beaten here, I was getting beaten by a big margin. Dimuth batted beautifully, because he was using his feet well. (Kusal Mendis wicket) Before that, we were caught in a bit of a whirlwind by those two. Whatever shots they were playing were coming off. It was a question of bowling at the right pace. I also came around the wicket, and it doesn't always come off, but this time it did."

Sampath says: 22nd time Ashwin has taken the match-finishing wicket to win a Test match. Equal most alongside Shane Warne.

5.46 pm So another Test gets over well inside three days. In fact, Sri Lanka perhaps saved their best for last right through this entire series, at least with the bat. Dimuth Karunaratne with a fighting century on a difficult surface, making him the only batter in this game to get to three figures, and there was an attractive half-century from Mendis earlier in the day as well. But the Indian bowlers have just been relentless. Ashwin with four wickets, in the process going past Dale Steyn's tally of Test wickets, and Jasprit Bumrah the other standout Indian bowler in this match.

Silly point in place now

Debasish: "The wonderful gesture of the entire Indian cricket team, running to congratulate Suranga Lakmal on his last test match is makes us go miles to watch a cricket match !!! team spirit at its best !!"

Back over

Round the wicket

Richard Wesley: "Mighty fine innings from the SL Skipper. He had everything against him. Top class Indian bowling at their backyard, not much support from other SL batters, below average performance on this tour, still he played a captain's knock. Worth lot more than the scorecard! Applause from an Indian fan!"

Farhan: "Its' Ashwin vs Bumrah for a fifer from this point"

"It's dusk now and time for the ball to start doing its magic." --- I should mention Santhosh had called it just before this delivery

Keerthi Rajan: "Pant in this match has only fast tracked Saha's retirement"