In the first innings, Suthar secured figures of 4/76, including the prized wicket of Sri Lanka’s most experienced batter, Dinesh Chandimal . In the second innings, more carnage followed as, after claiming two early wickets, he dismantled Sri Lanka’s lower order within just 10 balls, ending with figures of 6/55. Young Indian spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar etched his name in history, surpassing legends Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin to become the Indian bowler with the best match figures in Sri Lanka. He also became the third Indian bowler, after these two legends, to register a ten-wicket haul in Sri Lanka. Suthar achieved this milestone during India’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
With match figures of 10/131, he has surpassed Harbhajan (10/153 at Galle in 2008) and Ashwin (10/160 at Galle in 2015) to become the third Indian with a ten-wicket haul in Sri Lanka and the Indian bowler with the best figures in the country. Knocks from Devdutt Padikkal (167 off 230 balls, with 15 fours and a six), KL Rahul (82 off 175 balls, with 10 fours and a six), and Dhruv Jurel (51 off 68 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped them reach 462. Prabath Jayasuriya (4/109) and Keshara Nuwantha (3/175) were among the top bowlers in the first innings. Prasidh Krishna (2/16 in 10 overs) bowled an exceptional spell of pace, while Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a wicket each. India lead the two-match Test series 1-0.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bat first.
