Virat Kohli leapfrogs MS Dhoni to become Indian captain with second-most overseas Test wins

PTI

New Delhi: Virat Kohli-led Team India crumbled down the jaded Sri Lankan side by an innings and 171 runs on Day 3 of the third and final Test match to complete a 3-0 clean sweep, thus becoming the first ever Indian side to win a full Test series on foreign soil. With the victory, Virat Kohli edged past his predecessor MS Dhoni to register most overseas Test wins. ( IND vs SL, 3rd Test: As it happened || Full Coverage )

Sri Lanka resumed Day 3 action at 19 at the loss of one wicket. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne along with nightwatchman Malinda Pushpakumara stepped onto the field. India was then leading by 468 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin struck first to dismiss the opener and then Mohammed Shami scalped two wickets, sending back Pushpakumara and then Kusal Mendis. Angelo Mathews stepped in next and along with skipper Dinesh Chandimal stitched a commendable 65-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Surviving through Kuldeep Yadav's deceptive googlies and a single DRS scare the duo headed in for lunch.

READ: Virat Kohli leads Team India to first ever overseas clean sweep in series of three or more matches

But returning back on his 10th over Kuldeep outfoxed the skipper when the ball kissed the inside edge of his bat and flew to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. Mathews fell victim to another DRS scare, with this time the decision not tilting his way. Ashwin figured 4/68, pacers Umesh Yadav too put the wicket-taking list as the hosts squandered down to mere 181. India won the match by an innings and 171 runs, thus clean sweeping the series by 3-0.

Earlier, the tourists had shrugged off 2015 Galle humiliation by winning a massive 304-run victory over the Lankans in the first Test match. Heading to Colombo for the second, the team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with a win by an innings and 53 runs at SSC Ground.

Ergo, Virat Kohli now has seven overseas victories in total, standing second on the list among Indian skippers. Two matches in Sri Lanka when they had finished 2-1 in 2015, two more in West Indies in 2016 and finally, all the three matches in Sri Lanka, in this series. The 28-year-old has now breezed past his predecessor MS Dhoni who had record of six such wins. Leading the chart, is, however, Sourav Ganguly with 11 victories.

Well, Team India does have the all-important and highly anticipated South Africa series coming up early next year at the African nation. But more than records, analysts will be keen on seeing whether the Indians can survive the Proteas track.