Sri Lanka loses to India in the first Test match held in Galle

The touring Indian team managed to defeat the Sri Lankan team by 165 runs in the first Test match held at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. With this victory in the match, which took place from August 15 to 19, 2026, India was able to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.

In this match, which marked India's 600th Test match in history, they also secured 12 important bonus points relevant to the World Test Championship.

In this match, which became the 50th Test match held at the Galle Stadium, Indian captain Shubman Gill, who won the toss, decided to bat first. In this match, which was intermittently interrupted by rain, Manav Suthar made his Test debut for the Indian team, and spinner Keshara Nuwantha made his Test debut for the Sri Lankan team. Devdutt Padikkal entered the field as the number 3 batsman due to Sai Sudharsan not playing because of an injury, and during the match, Dinesh Chandimal suffered an injury, which led to Pasindu Sooriyabandara being called in as a substitute player for the Sri Lankan team.

Batting first in the first innings, India scored 462 runs all out in 116.4 overs. Devdutt Padikkal scored an excellent 167 runs from 230 balls, including 15 fours and one six. Padikkal, who recorded his maiden Test century on August 15, India's Independence Day, became the first Indian player to score a Test century on that day. He also became the second left-handed batsman (after Sourav Ganguly) to score a century batting at number 3 for India in the 21st century. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out for 32 runs, while K.L. Rahul scored 82 runs and Dhruv Jurel scored 51 runs. In bowling, Prabath Jayasuriya took 4 wickets for 109 runs, and Keshara Nuwantha took 3 wickets for 175 runs.

Although the Sri Lankan team, playing their reply innings, was in trouble at 5 wickets for 90 runs, Sonal Dinusha's maiden Test century (100) and Niroshan Dickwella's 80 runs helped them score 284 runs in the first innings. In bowling, Manav Suthar took 4 wickets for 76 runs, and Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets for 57 runs. India, starting their second innings with a first-innings lead of 178 runs, was all out for 193 runs in 48.5 overs. Asitha Fernando bowled brilliantly, taking 4 wickets for 31 runs, while Padikkal scored 44 runs, Rahul scored 35 runs, and Rishabh Pant scored a quickfire 66 runs from 69 balls. Pant hit his 100th Test six, becoming the fastest player to reach that milestone.

Chasing a winning target of 372 runs, the Sri Lankan team could only manage 84 runs for 4 wickets at the end of the fourth day. On the fifth day, despite fighting innings from Sonal Dinusha (84) and Dhananjaya de Silva (59), Sri Lanka's second innings was restricted to 206 runs due to Manav Suthar's excellent bowling, who took 6 wickets for 55 runs in the second innings. Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, and Lahiru Kumara being dismissed consecutively by Suthar's bowling proved decisive in the match. Prasidh Krishna took 2 wickets for 16 runs. Suthar, playing only his second Test match, managed to take a total of 10 wickets for 131 runs in the match.

India had previously faced defeats at the Galle Stadium in 2001, 2010, and 2015, while recording victories in 2008 and 2017. This 165-run victory, recorded after their 304-run victory in 2017, is another significant win for them in Sri Lanka. The performances of Devdutt Padikkal (211 runs) and Manav Suthar throughout the match were the main reasons for India's victory, and apart from the fighting spirit shown by Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella for Sri Lanka, the other batsmen were unable to withstand the Indian spin attack.