Sri Lanka vs India: Happy that we went through difficult situation, says Virat Kohli

Colombo: Team India captain Virat Kohli said that the situation of the wicket during Sri Lanka’s first innings tempted them to enforce the hosts for the follow on.

"Well, the way the wicket behaved when Sri Lanka batted first prompted that decision to enforce the follow-on. I'm not a big fan of it, especially when the wicket is breaking down like that. Even 150 in the fourth innings can be tough. You don't want to leave chances but here, we felt we had enough,” he said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

The skipper praised Wriddhiman Saha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane among few others.

“Saha is definitely the best keeper in this format right now. He's very agile and can create chances at any stage. Pujara and Rahane are our best Test players, KL played well too, and Jadeja contributed lower down the order. Pandya contributed too. For us, it's about taking Indian cricket ahead,” he further stated.

"We are playing Tests at international level and we expect teams to play like (Sri Lanka did) On Sunday, even if we did not get wickets, we will enjoy the tough times. It improves you as a side. We are happy that we went through the difficult place,” the 28-year old commented.

India defeated hosts Sri Lanka by an innings and 53 runs in the second Test on Sunday here as the visitors clinched the three match Test series 2-0. It was Ravindra Jadeja’s five-for which helped the Men in Blue seal the match.

After having bundled out for 183 in the first innings, Sri Lanka were enforced follow on as they were still 439 runs behind India’s total.

The visitors staged a brilliant fghtback, thanks to centuries from Kusal Mendis (110) and Dimuth Karunaratne (141), but were bowled out for 386, thanks to Jadeja’s brilliant spell.

The two teams will now head to Pallekelle for the final Test , starting on August 12.