IND vs SL 1st Test: Padikkal, Jurel withstand Sri Lanka spin test to take India to 460-9 on rain-hit day

Devdutt Padikkal after reaching his 150 against Sri Lanka in Galle on Sunday. PIC/BCCI

For more than four hours on Sunday, the Galle International Stadium outfield was bathed in a protective sheath of blue and green covers as the rain beat down with ruthless relentlessness. When play eventually resumed at 2.35 pm on Day Two of the first Test, however, India moved the game forward with enterprise, finishing a truncated afternoon on a healthy 460-9, a position from where they can expect to call the shots over the next couple of days.

Bathed under covers for extended periods, the surface offered the bowlers a lot more on the second afternoon, but with Devdutt Padikkal standing firm and Dhruv Jurel producing a polished half-century, India had an answer to nearly every question Sri Lankan tweakers Prabath Jayasuriya and Keshara Nuwantha, the debutant off-spinner, asked.

Padikkal built on his maiden Test hundred by wending his way to 167, the fourth-highest individual score by an Indian in this country, replicating his poise and composure of the previous day. With India kicking on from 288-2, Padikkal quickly hit his straps as he and Rishabh Pant extended their alliance to 71 when the second new ball finally brought the hosts some joy in the very first over it was summoned.

Giving Nuwantha the charge, Pant only managed to splice the ball for Sonal Dinusha to complete a smart running catch from mid-off. KL Rahul, who resumed his innings on 77 after retiring hurt with cramps, didn't last long, punching the offie to short-leg, and Padikkal's five-and-a-half-hour vigil eventually came to an end as he walked past a straight delivery from Jayasuriya to be easily stumped.

If Sri Lanka entertained hopes of wrapping up the innings quickly, they were in for a disappointment. Jurel, batting ahead of Ravindra Jadeja at No. 6, was assured in defence and decisive in stroke-production. Even as the ball turned and the top was disturbed from time to time, he trusted his technique to bring up a compact half-century and justify the faith shown by head coach Gautam Gambhir.

On match eve, skipper Shubman Gill had spoken with passion about Manav Suthar's batting credentials and the left-arm spinner didn't disappoint, holding his own during a 55-run seventh-wicket stand with Jurel. Sri Lanka toiled manfully and Dhananjaya de Silva produced a screamer at slip to pack off Jurel, but still India finished the day as strong as they had started it.

167
No of runs scored by Devdutt Padikkal in the first innings; the fourth-highest individual score by an Indian in Tests in Sri Lanka

Brief scores
India 460-9 (D Padikkal 167, KL Rahul 82, D Jurel 51; P Jayasuriya 4-109, K Nuwantha 3-175) vs Sri Lanka