3 min readUpdated: Aug 8, 2026 08:17 PM IST
Devdutt Padikkal slammed a century and steadied India’s innings after the visitors were at one point down two wickets even before reaching 100 against Sri Lanka XI in the 3-day warm-up match. Padikkal got to his ton in 121 deliveries with the help of 14 fours before he was withdrawn and Rishabh Pant took his place.
Earlier, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for a two-ball duck during the three-day practice game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Ground in Colombo.
Opening the batting alongside KL Rahul on day two of the fixture after the SLC XI declared on their overnight score of 363 for eight, Jaiswal was dismissed caught at gully off the second delivery of the innings from left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando. Offering no feet movement to the delivery well outside the off-stump channel, Jaiswal flailed his bat wide from his body to offer a simple catch.
The Mumbai southpaw, who has established himself as one of the opening mainstays in the shortest format, has struggled with his issues against left-arm pace across the last two seasons. Coupled with his affinity to employ the cut shot often, Jaiswal has fallen prey to the left-armers with his inability to shy away from his favoured stroke.
FOLLOW: IND vs SLC XI DAY 2 LIVE SCORE
On Friday, Indian bowling unit got some rough treatment from Sri Lanka’s Gen-Next batters before Kuldeep Yadav-led spinners scripted a recovery in the final session as the hosts posted 363 for 8 to end their first innings on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game.
Since the match doesn’t have first-class status — each team will bat 90 overs on days one and two and 45 overs each on the final day.
However at the end of the first day, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill, who didn’t take the field due to an impact injury that he suffered during a training session, will have a lot to ponder.
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If day’s performance is an indicator, off-spinner Saransh Jain (0/54 in 11 overs) will find it difficult to be in contention with both Kuldeep (2/76 in 18 overs) and Manav Suthar (1/30 in 11 overs) doing well. Seasoned Ravindra Jadeja (2/64 in 15 overs) looked out of sync despite getting a couple of wickets.
Playing a red-ball game after five weeks, the pacers were understandably rusty while the spinners despite sharing bulk of the spoils didn’t look menacing enough till Kuldeep found his mojo and asked a few probing questions.
