Colombo: Indian spin attack of Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav picked two wickets each as Sri Lanka Cricket XI reached 363/8 in 90 overs at stumps on Day 1 of their three-day warm-up fixture at the Nondescripts Cricket Club ground here on Friday.
With KL Rahul leading the charge in the absence of regular captain Shubman Gill due to him suffering a right ring finger injury, the troika of Jadeja (2-64), Suthar (2-48) and Kuldeep (2-76) extracted substantial turn from a flat surface that offered very little to the quicks earlier in the day. Tall pacer Gurnoor Brar chipped in with a wicket, even as Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna had no scalps.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, the hosts enjoyed a flying start as openers Nishan Madushka and Ravindu Rasantha dominated the morning session by stitching a century stand for the opening wicket. Playing with plenty of intent, Madushka looked in sparkling touch, dispatching the Indian pacers to all parts of the ground before a tragic miscommunication led to a tame run-out for him to fall for 66.
Siraj and Krishna lacked early discipline on a benign track with a faint green tinge that provided little lateral movement. Jadeja, returning to action for the first time after IPL 2026, finally broke the second-wicket resistance post-lunch by castling Pasindu Sooriyabandara with a delivery that skidded through rapidly to hit the stumps.
Suthar then showcased his flight and turn, and drew Rasantha into a reckless charge down the track to break another dangerous partnership. Brar bowled an impressive spell with high pace and bounce, and eventually removed Pavan Rathnanayake just before the tea break.
The evening session saw India assert greater control over proceedings as the pitch began aiding the spinners. Kuldeep dismissed Ahan Wickramasinghe after the batter top-edged an ambitious sweep to Brar in the deep, before deceiving Anjala Bandara via lbw to break Sri Lanka’s middle-order spine.
Captain Sonal Dinusha waged a brave counter-attack by compiling a fluent half-century to push the home team past the 300-run mark. But Jadeja returned to trap Ramesh Mendis lbw with a straight delivery, before Suthar ended Dinusha’s knock on 52 with a sharp arm ball.
Late entrant, off-spinner Saransh Jain, bowled a long spell without reward, as the entire bowling contingent got plenty of bowling practice ahead of the opening Test against Sri Lanka starting on August 15 in Galle, though they will be concerned with conceding over 360 runs on the opening day of a practice game.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka Cricket XI 363/8 in 90 overs (Ravindu Rasantha 71, Nishan Madushka 66; Manav Suthar 2-33, Ravindra Jadeja 2-64) against India.
(IANS)
