Test cricket won today: Gill praises Sri Lanka's resistance in Colombo draw
India walked off the field in Colombo with a series win in the bag, but Shubman Gill’s first instinct was not to talk about scorelines. It was to salute the format.
“Test cricket won today,” the India captain said, and it didn’t feel like a throwaway line. Not after 154 overs in the dirt. Not after watching a game India had controlled for so long wrestled away from their grasp by one stubborn Sri Lankan innings.
Dinusha stands tall, India denied
India had spent most of the match dictating terms, stacking the pressure, eyeing a 2-0 sweep. The scenario looked set: a dominant visiting side, a tiring home batting unit, time on their side.
Then Sonal Dinusha dug in. Again.
Having already scored a century in the first innings, the Sri Lankan batter produced another outstanding knock, raising his second hundred of the match and refusing to budge. He batted through, unbeaten, as Sri Lanka clung on and dragged the contest to a draw.
The hosts survived 154 overs across their second-innings resistance. India kept coming, changing angles, rotating bowlers, searching for that one opening. It never arrived.
‘We did everything that we can’
Gill’s assessment of India’s effort was blunt and unapologetic. There was no hint of regret over tactics, no attempt to mask the grind.
“We fielded for about 150 overs, we did everything that we can. I don't think we could have done anything differently,” he said after the match.
The follow-on question inevitably surfaced, as it always does when a chasing team runs out of time. Gill acknowledged the debate but parked it firmly in the realm of hindsight.
“Keeping the weather in mind, we could talk about these things (enforcing follow-on) only in hindsight. You take the best decision you can in the moment and something didn't go our way,” he said.
The tone was clear: India backed their calls, backed their bowlers, and accepted that on this day, resistance beat pressure.
Respect for Sri Lanka’s fight
Gill did not let the narrative rest solely on India’s missed chances. He turned it towards Sri Lanka’s response under fire.
“A lot of positives for us, learning from the opposition. The way they came back, it was tremendous to see,” he said.
This was not a flat deck stalemate. Sri Lanka had been outplayed for large stretches of the series, India finishing with a 1-0 win across the two Tests. Yet in Colombo, the hosts showed a different face: disciplined, patient, and willing to absorb hour after hour of pressure.
Gill’s respect for that effort came through in the way he framed the draw. “I don't think we could have done things differently. They bowled brilliantly in this game,” he added, acknowledging not just Sri Lanka’s batting resolve but the way their attack had kept punching back.
Gill’s faith in Suthar
Amid the grind and the frustration of chances that never came, one Indian name still rang with promise in Gill’s words: Manav Suthar.
The left-arm spinner has only just begun to feel his way into the international arena, but his captain already sees something more long-term.
“How well he releases the ball, I think he's going to be crucial for us in the upcoming years,” Gill said, a strong endorsement after such a taxing Test.
On a day when India’s bowlers toiled without the final reward, that kind of backing matters. It hints at continuity, at patience with a young spinner learning his craft the hard way – over long spells, on flat days, against batters who refuse to give in.
India leave Sri Lanka with the series secured, but not with the crushing finale many expected. Instead, they depart with a reminder that in this format, control can vanish session by session, and that sometimes the most telling result is not a win, but a fight that refuses to end.
