4.30pm Shortly after raising his 17th Test hundred, Virat Kohli declared on the fourth morning, setting Sri Lanka an improbable 550. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav then found seam movement and broke through with the new ball. Dimuth Karunaratne, though, was tight in defence, and pounced on the bad balls. He led Sri Lanka's resistance with 97 but lacked enough support from the other end. Jadeja and Ashwin, who claimed three wickets each, took care of the middle and lower order. India could not have asked for a better start to the series. It was a near-perfect Test for them.
Sri Lanka have a lot to worry about: Asela's injury, his replacement, Herath's injury, Chandimal's fitness, Mathews inglorious hoick, which adds to his batting slump, the lack of bite from their bowlers, and of course the dropped catches. Where will they go after this 304-run shellacking inside four days?
Shikhar Dhawan, Man of the Match: I really enjoyed batting over here. I just watched the ball and backed my game. There is a very healthy competition from the opening spot in the side, and it keeps me on my toes.
Rangana Herath: The finger is getting better. There is nothing on the scan, and I am sure it will get better. It is a pretty good wicket, and the toss was not a factor. Credit to the India team, and we need improvement in all three departments. Asela's loss is huge.
Virat Kohli: We lost a Test we should have won in 2015 here. This time it was a clinical performance two years down the line. Really happy with the way things went in this Test. The surface did not offer much, and that's why the win is special. We have to work hard. It's an example of the skill they possess, and persistent pressure always pays. That's something we believe in. The opening competition is a happy headache. It felt nice that it came off nicely. Abhinav batted well and he deserved a hundred.
That's a wrap of this game. Watch out for features from Fernando and Monga. From Al Muthu, Deva Muthu, Shashank Kishore and Sanjay Murari, it's ta ra. Do come back for the second Test, starting August 3
Samraat: "Without a doubt turning point of match was on the very first day when Gunaratne dropped dhawan.Dhawan went on to smash quick fire 190 and gunaratne went to hospital and didn't came back"
Harry: "This is the biggest test losses for SL (by runs): 304 this Test * Previous one is 301 v Pak, PSS, 1994"
Akash Anand: "For all the talk about fightback from srilanka.. They were 64 runs short of India's first inning total. Need a lot of improvement to compete in the series "
Paranjaya Nepal: "I guess the man of the match shall go to Dhawan. Turned the game on its head with his blitzkrieg. "
Vikram: "Kuldeep should gate a game in place of Umesh in the next match if we get a similar wicket."
Ankur: "What a coincidence. Both SL and SA's innings finished together."
Rahul: "Some matches are done amd dusted on the day 1 itself. This was one such test thanks to Dhawan 's brilliance "
Samraat: "Who would have imagined dhawan scoring 190 and getting MOTM before the start of series. Destiny?" Yeah, --- He's destiny's child
CBRLS Kumara c Mohammed Shami b Jadeja 0 (9m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
END OF OVER:76 | (maiden) | SL: 245/7
- Dilruwan Perera21 (50b)
- Lahiru Kumara0 (3b)
- Ravichandran Ashwin27-4-65-3
- Ravindra Jadeja24-4-71-2
END OF OVER:75 | 5 Runs | SL: 245/7
- Lahiru Kumara0 (3b)
- Dilruwan Perera21 (44b)
- Ravindra Jadeja24-4-71-2
- Ravichandran Ashwin26-3-65-3