The opening day of India’s tour game began on a worrying note for the visitors with an injury update on Shubman Gill. As a precautionary measure, he did not take the field after being hit twice on his right ring finger during the team’s practice session at the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) on the match eve.
With the Test series around the corner, the team management are not taking any chances with the captain. Although Gill did not play, he was closely monitoring the proceedings from the sidelines.
His deputy, KL Rahul, led the side.
India lost the toss and were asked to bowl first on a pitch that offered little to no assistance for the bowlers. Even considering it was only the opening day, the surface is unlikely to become much tougher for the batters.
The Indian bowlers had to work hard for their rewards on an unresponsive deck. Interestingly, all the bowlers who picked up wickets did so in their second spells.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna shared the new ball. Both bowled five-over spells to begin the day. Prasidh leaked runs and looked out of sorts, while Siraj repeatedly challenged the outside edge of the batters. Despite giving it all, Siraj was unfortunate not to get wickets.
The first hour belonged to the SLC XI openers, Nishan Madushka and Ravindu Rasantha. They put on a century stand before a slight misunderstanding between them resulted in Madushka’s run-out. It was a fortunate breakthrough for India and an important one, as Madushka looked well set on 66. The first session belonged to the SLC XI as they scored 138 runs for the loss of just one wicket. India responded strongly in the second session by taking three wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja kept attacking the stumps and was rewarded with a couple of wickets.
The other left-arm spinner, Manav Suthar, looked a little rusty in his opening spell but made scoring difficult for the well-set Ravindu. He bowled beautifully in his second spell. With the pitch offering neither turn nor grip, Suthar relied on subtle changes of pace to dismiss Ravindu. He was India’s standout bowler on the day.
Among the pacers, Gurnoor Brar impressed the most. He generated good pace and consistently tested Dhruv Jurel, who kept wicket for most of the opening day. Rishabh Pant wore the gloves during the first session and part of the second before Jurel took over.
Using his height to great effect, Brar bounced out Pavan Rathnayake with a sharp short ball just before tea.
Kuldeep Yadav, despite proving expensive, managed to pick up two wickets. The left-arm wrist-spinner bowled the most number of overs on the day.
Jadeja, Suthar and Kuldeep bowled the majority of the overs. Saransh Jain was introduced into the attack only after three-and-a-half hours and bowled eleven overs without any wicket.
Despite two left-handers being at the crease for the SLC XI, he was not given an extended spell.
Another notable talking point was Auqib Nabi not taking the field at all. The Jammu and Kashmir pacer was only seen carrying drinks throughout the day.
With extremely hot conditions in Colombo, the fielders were rotated regularly. Net bowlers were seen fielding as substitutes while squad players came off the field for breaks. It was an even day. On a flat pitch, India did well to take seven wickets while Sri Lanka batted well for 347.
Later in the day, as the weather became more pleasant, a number of fans turned up at the NCC to watch the action.
On Day 2, all eyes will be on Gill to see whether he takes the field and whether India decide to use Auqib.
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