Nagpur: Spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets to enter cricket’s record books as India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs inside four days of the second Test on Monday.
Ashwin took 4/63 to pass former Australia fast bowler Dennis Lillee as the quickest to 300 Test wickets while the victory equalled India’s biggest Test win — against Bangladesh in Dhaka 10 years ago.
Sri Lanka, who started the day on 21/1 after conceding a 405-run first innings lead, crashed to 166 all out, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal put up some resistence with a knock of 61 but the rest of the batting fell by the wayside as Ashwin returned overall match figures of 8/130.
Ashwin’s final wicket of Lahiru Gamage, for nought, made him fastest bowler to reach 300 Test wickets. He took 54 matches to reach the mark, two fewer than Lillee, who terrorised batsmen in the 1970s and early eighties.
Fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja and pacemen Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma took two wickets each.
Jadeja struck early in the morning session when he had opener Dimuth Karunaratne caught at short leg for 18.
The left-handed Karunaratne, who resumed the day on 11, got an inside edge on a tossed up delivery from Jadeja and Murali Vijay took a sharp close catch.
Karunaratne’s overnight partner Lahiru Thirimanne played an awful shot way outside off stump to hand a simple catch to Jadeja off Yadav for 23.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli hit a majestic double century on Sunday before India declared their first innings on 610/6 to take a firm grip on the match.
Kohli made 213 from 267 balls for his fifth double ton in 62 Tests. His innings featured big partnerships with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma to pulverise the opposition bowling.
Pujara made 143, Rohit Sharma 102 not out and opener Vijay 128 in a brutal statement of intent from India.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka (1st innings) 205.
India (1st innings) 610-6 decl.
Sri Lanka (2nd innings o/n 21/1): S. Samarawickrama b Sharma 0, D. Karunaratne c Vijay b Jadeja 18, L. Thirimanne c Jadeja b Yadav 23, A. Mathews c Rohit b Jadeja 10, D. Chandimal c Ashwin b Yadav 61, N. Dickwella c Kohli b Ishant 4, D. Shanaka c Rahul b Ashwin 17, D. Perera lbw b Ashwin 0, R. Herath c Rahane b Ashwin 0, S. Lakmal (not out) 31, L. Gamage b Ashwin 0. Extras: (lb2) 2. Total: (in 49.3 overs) 166.
FoW: 1-0, 2-34, 3-48, 4-68, 5-75, 6-102, 7-107, 8-107, 9-165.
Bowling: Sharma 12-4-43-2, Ashwin 17.3-4-63-4, Jadeja 11-5-28-2, Yadav 9-2-30-2.
