It was dominant, it was clinical, it was comprehensive and the numbers show it. India were all over Sri Lanka in the first Test of their series in Galle, beating Rangana Herath’s hapless team by 304 runs on Saturday.

There never was a contest – India dominated almost all sessions of play with the Lankans never having a chance. Shikhar Dhawan was the player of the match for his first innings score of 190 off only 168 balls. Captain Virat Kohli scored his 17th Test century in the second innings and after hitting an unbeaten 103, declared on 240/3, setting Sri Lanka a near-impossible target of 550 to win.

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This was India’s biggest ever Test win but there were some other interesting numbers from the victory as well.

The big numbers:

  • This was India’s largest Test win abroad, eclipsing their 279-run win over England in Leeds in 1986. It was also their fourth biggest win overall.
  • With this win, the Virat Kohli behemoth just keeps rolling on. This is his fifth win outside India and puts him in special company.
  • Kohli also found the time to stroke his way to his 17th Test century, shrugging off a slight dip in form. And captaincy certainly suits him...

And the century took his Test batting average, which had dipped a little, to above 50, making him the best all-format player currently.

  • This win also continues India’s brilliant run of form and gave them their 18th win in the last 28 matches. That’s better than any other team. Kohli’s return to Galle, after a shock loss in 2015, was triumphant. 
  • Spare a thought for Sri Lanka though. They just seem to be getting worse and worse. With two more Tests incoming and a planned tour of India later this year, it’s hard to see how they will improve.