A thumping victory for team India under the skipper Rohit Sharma to register their 5th largest victory in terms of runs. There was not a single session where one could even tilt the table slightly in favor of the Lankans as they were beaten hands down in the opening Test and it will be indeed tough to think of them making a comeback in the second and final Test.
The Test was all over headlines for being the former Indian skipper Virat Kohli's 100th Test match. However, it was the star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who stole the show with his extraordinary innings of 175 with the bat and 9 wickets with the ball. In the process of the innings victory, the Men in Blue managed to break a series of records.
Huge victory!
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2022
India win by an innings and 222 runs to take a 1-0 series lead against Sri Lanka 🎉#WTC23 | #INDvSL | https://t.co/mo5BSRmFq2 pic.twitter.com/76hsYd9yKF
Do not be surprised if you read Jadeja's name more than often. Without further delay, let's dive into the list of all the records and stats broken during the morning encounter between India and Sri Lanka.
2
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is yet to taste defeat after taking over as the full-time captain of team India and there is no doubt that his decisions have been on-point till now. The 34-year old added another feather to his cap by becoming just the second Indian skipper after Polly Umrigar (led his side to victory against New Zealand in 1955) to win the maiden Test match as captain.
16
Ever since India scored a mammoth total of 574 runs in the first innings, the game had all the chances of not making it to the 4th innings as the pitch was slowing down drastically and the declaration came at the right time, although it was at the cost of Jadeja's maiden double ton. Sri Lanka, later on Day 3 went onto lose a staggering 16 wickets consisting of 6 wickets in the first innings and 10 after being made to follow on. This is just the 2nd time that the Lankans lost 16 wickets on a single day, the last time being against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2017.
7
Sir Jadeja was all over the place with both the bat and ball and during his onslaught with the ball, he managed to create an incredible achievement which last time was achieved back in the year 2013. The 33- year old is now only the 7th bowler to dismiss an opponent player for pairs in both the innings on the same day. A unique feat isn't?
| Batsman | Bowler | Year | Venue |
| Bobby Peel | C Turner | 1895 | Sydney |
| T Ward | TJ Mathews | 1912 | Manchester |
| Pankaj Roy | F Trueman | 1952 | Manchester |
| N Harvey | Jim Laker | 1956 | Manchester |
| C Mpofu | Daniel Vettori | 2005 | Harare |
| D Sammy | T Boult | 2013 | Wellington |
| S Lakmal | R Jadeja | 2022 | Mohali |
435*
300th Test for SL
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 6, 2022
100th Test for Virat Kohli
Ashwin went past great Kapil Dev
But this Test match will be known as 'Jadeja's Test' congratulations and well played @BCCI 👏🏼👊🏼 #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/2OKlmQ8mkB
How can this list be complete without the leading Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the foxy off spinner always makes sure he makes the headlines when playing with the red ball and this time around he achieves another milestone of becoming the second highest wicket-taker in Tests for India overtaking the former legendary all-rounder's tally of 434 wickets. The 35-year old has just one player above him now and he needs another 185 wickets to overtake the incredible tally of 619 wickets of Anil Kumble. With time very much on his side, can he finish as the highest wicket-taker for India?
6
Ravindra Jadeja set another stamping record to his name to become just the third Indian after Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar to score a 150 and pick up 5 or more wickets in the same Test match. The feat was for the first time achieved by Vinoo Mankad himself in 1952 against England, where he became the 1st ever player to accomplish this feat. Following which only five other players including rockstar Jadeja have managed to achieve the feat.
Let us take a look at the players who recorded this special performance.
| Player | Team | Figures | Opponent/ Year |
| Vinoo Mankad | India | 184 & 196/5 | England/1952 |
| Denis Atkinson | West Indies | 219 & 5/56 | Australia/1955 |
| Polly Umrigar | India | 172* & 107/5 | West Indies/1962 |
| Gary Sobers | West Indies | 174 & 41/5 | England/1966 |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | Pakistan | 201 & 41/5 | New Zealand/1973 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | India | 175* & 41/5 | Sri Lanka/2022 |
# If Jadeja had picked up one more wicket in the second innings, he would have become the first ever player to score a 150 and pick up 10 wickets in a Test.
100Ă—3
The first innings saw India produce three 100 plus partnerships after the fall of the 5th wicket. This was just the third occasion that this feat was achieved by a team and the credit is definitely to the all-rounder once again for playing a blinder of an innings accompanied by Pant, Ashwin and Shami.
The left-armer is also the first ever No.7 batsman to be involved in three 100 plus partnerships. Is there anything that is left for this man to do?
175*
The score of 175* is the highest by an Indian at the no.7 position in Tests and what a better way to top the charts than by overtaking the former Indian skipper and all-rounder Kapil Dev. Jadeja's score is also overall the 6th highest at the no.7 position. Any guesses on the highest score? Don't worry below is the list.
The record belongs to the legend Don Bradman, who scored a gritty 270 off 375 balls against England during the new year of 1937.
What an exciting start to the Test series, although it was one-sided, we saw the players showcase an incredible performance. It would definitely take something extraordinary by the Lankans if they are to bounce back from this blow and level the series. Well, we have seen it happen on several occasions. Can they make a comeback? Or will India make easy work of them once again and Rohit Sharma continue his merry run as the skipper?
Cover Credits: BCCIofficial
