Manav Suthar Takes 6-55 as India Seal 165-Run Victory Over Sri Lanka in Galle

Young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar bagged a sensational 6-55 as India crushed Sri Lanka by 165 runs in the first Test at Galle to take a 1-0 series lead.

Suthar Turns the Tide with Triple Strike

Playing his second Test, the youngster finished with match figures of 10-101 after tearing through the hosts on the final afternoon. Sri Lanka folded for 206 in 77.4 overs while chasing a daunting target, handing India 12 valuable World Test Championship points in their milestone 600th Test match.

Resuming after lunch on day five, Sri Lanka had pinned their hopes on Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha. Dinusha, who made a century in the first innings, looked poised for another hundred as he reached 84.

Suthar turned the contest on its head with a devastating triple-wicket maiden in the 76th over. He first removed Dinusha with a ball that reared off the pitch, inducing a glove to Dhruv Jurel at leg gully.

Spinning Sri Lanka Out on Final Day

On the next ball, he bowled Prabath Jayasuriya for a golden duck with a delivery that gripped and clipped off stump. Though Lahiru Kumara survived the hat-trick ball, Suthar switched to round the wicket two balls later to edge him to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps.

Nuwantha hit a few boundaries to push Sri Lanka past 200, but Suthar sealed the win in the 78th over by sliding an arm ball past Nuwantha's bat to clean him up for 20.

India's victory was set up by Devdutt Padikkal's 167 in the first innings, which provided a 178-run lead, followed by Pant's strategic 66 in the second innings that set Sri Lanka an imposing target on a crumbling surface.