Devdutt Padikkal’s impressive 167 remained the highlight as India finished the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at 460/9The visitors lost seven wickets for 172 runs after starting the day at 288/2, but still managed to build a strong total.
Kuldeep Yadav was unbeaten on 12, while Prasidh Krishna was on one when play ended.
Rain delayed the start until 2:35pm, with the wet outfield causing a long waitWhen the match resumed, Sri Lanka’s bowlers looked much sharper than they had on the opening dayThe hosts bowled tighter lines and gave India’s batters fewer scoring options.
Padikkal resumed on 131 and continued to bat with confidenceHe reached 150 from 215 balls after pulling Asitha Fernando for a boundaryHowever, before he could push on further, India lost Rishabh Pant.
Pant, who had made 39, tried to attack off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha but mistimed a lofted shotSonal Dinusha ran in to take the catch, ending an innings that had promised more.
KL Rahul then returned to the crease after retiring hurt with cramps on the first dayHe had been unbeaten on 77 but could add only four more runsNuwantha got the ball to turn and bounce, and Rahul gave a simple catch to Nishan Madhushka at short leg.
The two wickets gave Sri Lanka some momentum, and they soon got the biggest wicket of the inningsPadikkal was dismissed just before tea for 167, deceived by Prabath Jayasuriya’s flightNiroshan Dickwella completed the stumping.
Padikkal’s innings was still a major positive for IndiaPlaying at No.3 after Sai Sudharsan’s injury, the left-hander showed that he can handle the responsibility in the middle orderHis performance also gives India another option once Sudharsan returns.
India went into tea at 364/5 before losing Ravindra Jadeja soon after the breakNuwantha trapped him lbw to leave India at 377/6.
Dhruv Jurel then played an important innings when India needed runs from the lower orderHe survived an early scare when Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva dropped a thick edge off Jayasuriya at slip.
Jurel made the most of the chance and reached his first fifty in eight inningsHe hit Nuwantha for a six over mid-wicket and pulled Lahiru Kumara for a boundary before being dismissed for 55De Silva took a sharp catch at slip off Jayasuriya to make up for his earlier mistake.
Jurel and Manav Suthar added 55 for the seventh wicket, while Suthar made a useful 24Mohammad Siraj also chipped in with some aggressive shots as India moved closer to 460.
