India displayed the required patience and persistence to seal a 165-run win against a resolute Sri Lanka middle order on a slow, new-ball pitch. Sonal Dinusha came to within 16 runs of a second hundred in the Test, Dhananjaya de Silva scored a half-century as well, and for long periods India looked content to keep a lid on the scoring so that they could do the job with the second new ball. Once he got Dinusha out in the 76th over, though, Manav Suthar ran through the rest to end up four wickets in 10 balls, a second five-for in two Tests, and the new ball unneeded.

It will be a welcome win for a young transitioning team that has lost two out of its last three series in spin-friendly conditions, that too at home. They did win the big toss, but had to contend with dodgy weather through the Test, which did play a part in some of the shots their middle-order batters played in the first innings.

On the final day, needing six wickets to win, India stayed with pace at one end. Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja kept testing Dinusha and de Silva, who made their ways to half-centuries. The overnight pair saw off the first spells of these bowlers, but Jadeja came back after less than a half hour to get rid of de Silva. He went past the outside edge with one that turned big and then slowed the next ball down, drawing a top edge on the sweep.

Niroshan Dickwella played an unsettled innings, trying to reverse-sweep and sweep Kuldeep from well outside leg as he bowled around the wicket, looking for something from a new angle. Against Prasidh Krishna’s short balls, he kept moving around the crease. Following some banter with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was goading him to play the hook, Dickwella top-edged a cut, cramped by the line even after having backed away from the stumps.

Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha hung in for 15 overs, but one mistake from Dinusha opened the floodgates. Suthar had gone around the wicket, pitched one outside leg, and he just turned the ball straight into the hands of the only catching man, the leg gully. The extra bounce probably played a part.

Suthar will be mighty pleased with the next three wickets because they were all a result of less turn than expected. All bowled quicker with a square seam rather than overspin with the seam pointing towards slip, which is his main weapon. However, if you keep turning the ball big, you can keep going past the edge without actually taking a wicket. Suthar showed he has the variation and exposed the other edge as well. Nuwantha was the last man out, bowled off the inside edge, with 2.2 overs still to go for the new ball.