On August 14, 2017, India claimed their first ever 3-0 series win overseas, beating Sri Lanka in the third and the final Test at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka by an innings and 171 runs.
- In the third and the final test match, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul set the tone with an aggressive 188-run partnership. In the lower order Hardik Pandya came up with a brilliant knock of 108 off 96 balls.
- On the third day of the final test match, Indian bowlers did not take much time to wrap up Sri Lanka’s second innings.
- Earlier, India won the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle by 304 runs and the second by an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
KL Rahul equals world record of most consecutive half-centuries in Test cricket
On the first day of the third and final test match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Indian opener KL Rahul scored 85 runs on account of which he joined an exclusive club of batsmen to score the most consecutive half-centuries in Test cricket history.
Hardik Pandya Leaves Several Records Shattered With Counter-Punching Knock
In the third and final test match against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya scored 108 off just 96 balls. On account of this brilliant knock, Hardik Pandya broke/equalled following records:
- In his innings of 108 runs, Hardik hit eight boundaries and seven sixers. While doing so, he equaled the record of Virender Sehwag who hit seven sixes against Sri lanka at Brabourne in 2009. The record is held by Navjot Sidhu who hit eight against Sri Lanka in Lucknow in 1994.
- Hardik became the first Indian batsman to score 26 runs in an over in test match and surpassed the previous record of 24 runs which was scored by Sandeep Patil off Bob Willis in Manchester in 1982 and by Kapil Dev off Eddie Hemmings at Lord’s in 1990.
- Hardik, who scored 107 runs at lunch on Day 2, is the most by an Indian batsman before lunch on any day of a Test. Previously, the record was held by Virender Sehwag who scored 99 runs against West Indies in Gros Islet in 2006.
- Hardik only took 86 balls to reach his century. This is the second fastest for an Indian player away from home, after the 78-ball hundred by Virender Sehwag against West Indies in Gros Islet in 2006.
- Hardik’s century off 86 balls is also the joint-fastest hundred by a visiting player in Sri Lanka alongside Wasim Akram’s 86-ball effort against the hosts in 2000.
- Hardik’s 108 is the third-highest score by any player batting at number eight or below against Sri Lanka and also the second-highest against them in Sri Lanka.
Ravindra Jadeja, suspended for India vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test
Indian cricket team’s all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was suspended from the third and final Test against Sri Lanka.
- Jadeja accumulated six demerit points inside a 24-month period which means he has to be suspended from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first.
- Jadeja had come into the Colombo Test (2nd Test against Sri Lanka in the latest series) with three demerit points, which were slapped on him for running on the pitch against New Zealand in Indore in October 2016.
- The ICC penalised him further after an incident in the 58th over of the Sri Lankan second innings.
- Jadeja had fielded the ball off his own bowling and then threw it at batsman Malinda Pushpakumara during Sri Lanka’s second innings in the second Test “in a dangerous manner” according to on-field umpires Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford.
Rumesh Ratnayake to be Sri Lanka’s head fast bowling coach
Former seamer Rumesh Ratnayake has been appointed as the new fast bowling coach of Sri Lankan team.
- 53-year-old Ratnayake will replace Champaka Ramanayake in the Sri Lnakan national team which faced a whitewash against India at home in a three-match Test series.
- Ratnayake will head the National Fast Bowling programme, spearheading its talent identification, skills development and training processes in cohesion with the National High Performance plan.
- Ratnayake whose career was cut short by injury has innings best bowling figure of 6/66.
Ravichandran Ashwin overtakes Harbhajan Singh in most five-fors list for India
On the third morning of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked his 26th five-wicket haul.
- With this feat, Ashwin surpassed Harbhajan Singh, whom he had replaced in the team, and now only Anil Kumble has more five-wicket hauls among the Indian bowlers.
- Ashwin got his 26th fifer in his 51th Test and Harbhajan had 25 in 103 Tests. Kumble has 35 in 132 Tests, and if Ashwin continues at this pace, the former India leg-spinner’s mark will be under threat in a couple of seasons.
Ravichandran Ashwin completes double, joins Kapil Dev in unique all-rounders’ list
In the second test match against Sri Lanka, Ravichandran Ashwin scored a half century.
- In the process, he completed 2000 runs in Test cricket, which put him among the fastest to the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets.
- Having taken 51 Tests to reach the feat, he is fourth fastest in the list behind Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev.
- Ravichandran Ashwin is the second fastest Indian to reach this landmark after Kapil Dev, who achieved this milestone in 50th Test match.
Ravindra Jadeja becomes No.1 test all- rounder in the ICC 2017 rankings
In the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings, Ravindra Jadeja has been ranked as World No. 1 all-rounder after eclipsing Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
- Following his Man-of-the-Match performance of 70 not out and seven wickets to help top-ranked India beat Sri Lanka by an innings in Colombo on August 6, 2017, Jadeja has displaced Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasanto claim the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for all-rounder for the first time in his career.
- The other Indian cricketers to make upwards movements are batsmen Cheteshwar Pujaraand Ajinkya Rahane, who each scored centuries in Colombo.
- India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Sahahas attained a career-best 44th position after moving up four places, and fast bowlers Mohammed Shami (20th) and Umesh Yadav (22nd) have also gained.