2 min readAug 26, 2026 11:51 AM IST
India found themselves in a comfortable position to win the Colombo Test and seal the series 2-0 after captain Shubman Gill enforced a follow-on against Sri Lanka on Day 4. Debutant spinner Saransh Jain picked the last two wickets on Wednesday, as the hosts fell 13 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. Much of the credit, however, belongs to pacer Prasidh Krishna, who ripped through the Sri Lankan top order with a three-wicket haul.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif praised Krishna for bowling an incisive spell, outshining his senior partner Mohammed Siraj.
“I believe the fast bowlers have bowled well on this pitch, even the Sri Lankan fast bowlers, who took five wickets. Prasidh Krishna stuck to his natural length. He bowled fast, and you rarely see someone leave Siraj behind,” Kaif said on Sony Sports after Stumps on Day 3.
“Siraj is a senior bowler. He has played close to 45 Test matches, and this is Krishna’s ninth Test. However, on this tour, whether it’s pace or effort, I feel Krishna has looked ahead in all aspects in this series. The three wickets he picked up was special bowling, if we talk about this match,” he added.
Krishna’s spell of 3/47 in 14 overs helped India reduce Sri Lanka to 265/8 before they were eventually bundled out for 290. India then asked them to bat again.
Another former India batter, Cheteshwar Pujara, analysed what made Krishna successful. “He got success only when he changed his angle in today’s first session. They made a game plan. After that, he stuck to the short ball. Back-of-length delivery is his speciality, but along with that, he used the bouncer well,” Pujara said.
“That’s why he got two wickets with bouncers, and the one wicket we saw yesterday was from the six-to-eight-meter length, where he bowls more. So his bowling needs to be praised. It was a good spell yesterday, and he also bowled well today. However, he will have to bowl well tomorrow as well,” he added.