Sri Lanka batter Sonal Dinusha emerged as one of the biggest positives from the drawn two-Test series against India, producing a remarkable display of resilience and consistency to thwart the visitors’ hopes of a series clean sweep.Dinusha scored three centuries across his four innings in the series, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 420 runs at an average of 140.00. He also faced 722 deliveries, the most by any batter in the series, underlining the patience and endurance that made him such a difficult player for India to dislodge.His performance has now earned high praise from former India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who believes the young Sri Lankan has shown glimpses of two of the country’s greatest modern-day batters, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.“The way he has batted throughout the series has been phenomenal. He takes me into that era of batters like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. When I was growing up, I used to look up to those Sri Lankan players,” Pujara said in a video on ESPNcricinfo.Pujara believes Dinusha has the potential to become one of Sri Lanka’s leading batters in the years to come.“In five to 10 years, Sonal Dinusha can be one of the greats of Sri Lankan cricket. He has shown that potential. The way he batted on the last day of the second Test match, it was a commendable effort,” he added.Dinusha’s finest contribution came in the second Test at Colombo, where his unbeaten 133 off 264 balls ensured Sri Lanka held India to a draw and denied the visitors a series clean sweep.
How the second match unfolded
Coming to the match, India opted to bat first, with centuries from Padikkal (117 in 193 balls, with 12 fours), Dhruv Jurel (115* in 177 balls, with nine fours and two sixes) and half-centuries from Rishabh Pant (63 in 89 balls, with six fours and two sixes) and skipper Gill (50 in 108 balls, with six fours) taking India to 503/9, with Asitha Fernando taking four-fer.In their first innings, SL was skittled out for 290, with Dinusha’s second century (103 in 162 balls, with eight fours and three sixes) and a fine 80 from Pasindu Sooriyabandara (in 133 balls, with nine fours) standing out. Prasidh Krishna and Suthar were among the wickets for India with three each.During the follow-on, India had SL down for 218/6, but a 112-run stand between Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha (46 in 150 balls, with four boundaries) pushed Sri Lanka towards a sizeable lead. Dinusha (133* in 264 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) reached his third ton of the series, with the resistance from lower order, who soaked in deliveries to support him. SL ended at 429/9, drawing the Test.
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