India win ninth Test series in a row after SL draw

NEW DELHI: India won a record ninth Test series in succession on Wednesday after drawing the pollution-tainted third and final Test with Sri Lanka in New Delhi.
Top-ranked India won the series 1-0 to equal Australia’s record of nine successive Test series victories, between 2005-2008.The first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Kolkata had ended in a draw and the hosts won the second game by an innings and 239 runs.
But Sri Lanka salvaged some pride in the final match thanks to Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshen Silva, who defied the odds and held out for a draw.The Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground was marred by severe pollution, with fast bowlers from both sides vomiting Tuesday amid thick smog.In an unprecedented move, Sri Lankan players wore facemasks while fielding to combat the toxic air, which interrupted play on day two as the visitors protested the choking conditions.
“It was a tough time. The thing is, in Sri Lanka we are not used that, so that’s why we struggled (on) the first two days,” said Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal.“But after that we needed to continue the game. We told the boys we have to forget about that and we need to play the game.
“Today is a fantastic day. It feels like Sri Lanka,” quipped the captain, referring to the less smoggy weather Wednesday.The US embassy website on Wednesday showed concentrations of the smallest and most harmful airborne pollutants hit 234, better than a day earlier but still nearly nine times the World Health Organization’s safe limit.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has said Delhi could be dropped as a venue during winter when pollution spikes.Dhananjaya, who retired hurt on 119 due to muscle stiffness, and Roshen (74 not out) held Sri Lanka steady over three sessions of play on the final day, after the visitors were set a huge 410 victory target late on day four.
Roshen was batting alongside Niroshan Dickwella on 44 when the two teams decided to shake hands with just seven mandatory overs left for the day.Spinner Ravindra Jadeja rattled the Sri Lankan top order with three strikes, including Angelo Mathews’ key wicket in the morning session.
India won toss
India 1st Innings 536 dec (V Kohli 243, M Vijay 155; P Sandakan 4-167)
Sri Lanka 1st Innings 373 all-out (L Chandimal 164; R Ashwin 3-90)
India 2nd Innings 246 dec (S Dhawan 67; de Silva 1-31)
Sri Lanka 2nd Innings
F D M Karunaratne c Saha b Jadeja 13
S Samarawickrama c Rahane b Shami 5
D M de Silva retired hurt 119
R A S Lakmal b Jadeja 0
A D Mathews c Rahane b Jadeja 1
*L D Chandimal b Ashwin 36
A R S Silva not out 74
†N Dickwella not out 44
Extras (b 5, lb 1, nb 1) 7
Total (5 wickets; 103 Overs) 299
To bat: M D K Perera, P L S Gamage, P A D L R Sandakan
Fall: 1-14, 2-31, 3-31, 4-35, 5-147, 5-205
Bowling: I Sharma 13-2-32-0; Shami 15-6-50-1; Ashwin 35-3-126-1; Jadeja 38-13-81-3; Vijay 1-0-3-0; Kohli 1-0-1-0
Result: Match drawn
Series: India won the 3-match series by 1-0
Man of the Match: V Kohli (India)
Man of the Series: V Kohli (India)
Test debut: A R S Silva (Sri Lanka)
Umpires: N Llong (England) and J Wilson (West Indies). TV Umpires: R Kettleborough (England). Match Referee: D Boon (Australia)