India reached 300/5 in 85 overs on Day 1 of the second World Test Championship match against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo. Devdutt Padikkal led the recovery with a century after India chose to bat first.
India lost KL Rahul early after he made 18. Yashasvi Jaiswal then scored 45 before Asitha Fernando bowled him. The opening pair had added 37 runs before Rahul fell to Lahiru Kumara.
Padikkal and captain Shubman Gill then steadied the innings. They added 120 runs for the third wicket and kept Sri Lanka’s bowlers under pressure. Gill made 50 from 108 balls before Fernando dismissed him just before Tea.
Padikkal continued his strong form from the previous game in Galle. He scored 117 from 193 balls, with 12 boundaries. His century helped India build a strong total in the final session.
India faced another setback when Rishabh Pant retired hurt after scoring three runs. A short ball hit his wrists and forced him to leave the field. Ravindra Jadeja then joined Padikkal and added 43 from 83 balls.
Sri Lanka finally removed Padikkal when Keshara Nuwantha bowled him. The wicket was also Nuwantha’s maiden Test wicket. Fernando then took his third wicket of the day after Sri Lanka took the new ball.
At stumps, Dhruv Jurel was unbeaten on 7 and debutant Saransh Jain was on 4. For Sri Lanka, Fernando was the leading bowler with 3/46 from 16 overs.
India will aim to add more runs on Day 2 and strengthen their first-innings total. Sri Lanka will look for early wickets when play resumes.
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