Colombo, Aug 23 (IANS) Devdutt Padikkal continued his sublime run by hitting a brilliant second Test century before Sri Lanka hit back late with the second new ball to restrict India to 300/5 in 85 overs at stumps on Day One of the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground on Sunday.
After electing to bat first on winning the toss, India looked set to dominate after Padikkal (117) and Ravindra Jadeja (43) added a 74-run partnership in the final session. Padikkal, who was dropped twice on zero and once, brought up his second Test hundred in consecutive matches with a series of precise cuts, which was his most productive shot of the day, off Prabath Jayasuriya, before accelerating after reaching the milestone.
Though Asitha Fernando’s three-wicket haul has kept Sri Lanka in the game, India are well-poised to get a big first-innings total, thanks to Dhruv Jurel and debutant Saransh Jain unbeaten at the crease on seven and four respectively.
Earlier in the final session, India suffered a big blow when wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was forced to retire hurt after taking a sharp hit on a Lahiru Kumara bouncer to his left wrist. Pant’s availability for the remainder of the match remains uncertain, though he was padded up later in the evening.
After that, Jadeja arrived and got his boundaries by picking the length quickly. Padikkal, on the other hand, continued his smooth run by getting his second consecutive century and got loud applause from the dressing room. With Padikkal nailing his backfoot cuts, the pressure on Sri Lanka to get a breakthrough became huge.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva’s move to bring back off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha paid immediate dividends when Nuwantha pushed a 91kph quicker delivery from around the wicket and beat Padikkal’s back-foot defence to crash into off-stump and dismiss him for 117.
Jurel then joined Jadeja, who was battling severe left-arm cramps and required multiple visits from the Indian team physio after being hit once there. Jadeja survived until the 85th over, when Asitha Fernando breached his defence with the second new ball through a picture-perfect inswinger from around the wicket, as the batter offered no shot.
Jain immediately got off the mark with a late cut to the backward point boundary, and brought up the 300-run mark for India in the final over of the day, before stumps arrived. Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers laboured in hot and humid conditions, but Fernando’s late strike ensured the hosts ended a compelling day’s play on equal footing.
Brief scores:
India 300/5 in 85 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Shubman Gill 50; Asitha Fernando 3-46, Lahiru Kumara 1-38) against Sri Lanka
–IANS
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