India came away from Sri Lanka with a third successive Test series triumph, but it still wasn’t mission accomplished in its entirety. Having targeted the full complement of 24 points from the two-match showdown, India had to be content with 16 following the disappointing draw in the second Test at the SSC ground, where they failed to drive home the advantage on the final day despite dominating the first four days of the match.

The Colombo stalemate has left their World Test Championship campaign hanging by a slender thread. Shubman Gill’s men are still in fifth position in the league standings and have only seven matches left — two in New Zealand in November and five at home against Australia from January. India must win six fixtures to guarantee themselves a top-two finish, a tall order considering that they haven’t won a Test in New Zealand since 2009 and that to sweep Australia 5-0 at home is anything but straightforward.