India vs SLC XI Live Score: India will take on Sri Lanka. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia / CREIMAS for BCCI)Shubman Gill and Co. began their final lap of preparations on a momentous Test tour against Sri Lanka in Colombo, taking on the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) XI in a three-day game at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground.
However, even before the tour officially started on Friday, the visitors have suffered another minor injury setback with the captain being ruled out of fielding action after the SLC XI opted to bat first. Gill sustained an injury during practice overnight, prompting the management to rest him from fielding duties.
During a tough day’s work, the Indian bowlers seemed flat for most of the day as the SLC XI got off to a rapid start, storming past 100 within 20 overs and maintaining a healthy scoring rate throughout the day. India’s lead spinners came to the fore thereafter with Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar pick two wickets each as the hosts batted up to 363 for eight at stumps.
Follow the India vs SLC XI Practice Match – Day 3 updates from Colombo
That is the end of the game. India has managed to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets at the end of it. They have played some pretty good cricket through the game; they have not looked troubled, but the wickets for the Galle Test will be slightly trickier. Thanks for joining us. We will be back in action for the first Test.
Gurnoor Brar is gone. He played quite a few attacking shots yesterday, but today things have not come off the bat as well as he would have liked. We have final three overs left and Mohammed Siraj is walking to bat for a bit.
Ravindra Jadeja has batted well here. He has got another start and breezed to 20. That is what a player in top form looks like. Jadeja is just breezing through his innings whenever he comes out to bat in the middle.
Interestingly, Devdutt Padikkal and KL Rahul have both not walked into the middle to bat; instead, the batter who has walked in is Manav Suthar. He played a good hand in the first innings seems like the team wants to give him more time.
Rishabh Pant is the latest to fall here. Trying to play an attacking shot against Ramesh Mendis, Pant has been holed out at the boundary. It is a weird innings from him; he blocked quite a lot, but when he went for the shot, he went with everything he had.
Ravindra Jadeja is the new batter who has walked into the middle. India need 55 runs to win, and there are bout 14 overs left in the day's play. And regardless of the result, we might see India batting all 45 overs of the day here today.
Dhruv Jurel has fallen here. It was a short and wide delivery from Fernando, which Jurel tried to cut, but it was a little too close to his body to cut, and he ended up edging it behind. Another opportunity wasted by Dhruv Jurel.
India is chasing these runs quite easily here. The reason for that has been the wicket, which has slowed down a bit, but it is still playing pretty well. It is very unlikely that, when they face Galle, if they are chasing any total, the pitch will play this way.
While Pant is taking his time, Jurel at the other end is trying to smash the bowlers. In the absence of a genuine all-rounder, India might be tempted to go with Jurel batting at seven. Usually that slot has been given to either Nitish Kumar Reddy or another spin-bowling all-rounder.
Rishabh Pant has faced 25 deliveries for his six runs. It is very unlike him. Usually he is quite attacking, but today it seems like he has a clear role given to him to spend a bit of time in the middle and get used to the conditions.
Shubman Gill has fallen here. He tried to charge down the track and play an attacking shot, but ended up getting the leading edge, which carried to the fine-leg, and that is that for Gill for the day, and Dhruv Jurel has walked into the middle.
Yashavi Jaiswal has retired after scoring 61 runs. Rishabh Pant is the new batter to walk in. He got out holed at long-off in the first innings; he would be hoping to spend some time in the middle before playing such shots here today.
100 runs of the partnership have come up here. Yashavi Jaiswal has gone past his 50. It has been mauling for the Sri Lankan bowlers. If they do give a flat deck, India will be favourites to win that game. The only chance Sri Lanka has is giving a turner.
Shubman Gill has his fair share of issues playing against spin, but against England in the 2024 series he adapted his game and has now become one of the best batters against the turning ball. His footwork has been brilliant.
Spinners have been brought into the attack, and both the Indian openers have gone more aggressive here with their batting. Ramesh Mendis might start in the first Test in Galle; going after him might hamper his confidence.
A 50-run partnership has come between Jaiswal and Gill, and it happened at a pretty brisk pace. Jaiswal has been batting pretty fluently too. One of the standout things about the southpaw is how he can go through the gears.
Vishwa Fernando and Kumara did bowl well in the first innings, but in this innings, Gill and Jaiswal have been quite brutal against them. To be fair to them, there is not a lot on offer for the seamers, and both the batters are cashing in.
Both Gill and Jaiswal have looked solid in the middle here. They have played a few shots, which is how these modern Indian batters approach their batting. However, the important thing from the perspective of both batters is to see how they will tackle spin when they come into attack.
It will be interesting to see how Shubman Gill's tour will go in Sri Lanka. Usually, he has been pretty good with his batting in recent times, and his game against spin has also been quite tidy. But Sri Lanka presents a challenge of a different kind, and he will need to adapt; the surfaces will be a lot slower than what he is used to in India.
Indian batting innings has started here. Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in the middle. Jaiswal would want to score some runs as he went for a duck in the first game. It was a bit of a poor shot from the left-hander. He would look to spend some time in the middle here today.
Sri Lanka has declared here for 200, and Tea has been taken. They have batted for 45 overs, and India will get to bat for 45 overs, regardless of the runs to get and the time, unless the light is not enough; the umpires might play all 45 overs. Do stay with us; we will be right back after the break.
Ravindra Jadeja got Nipun the batter charged down the track, which Jadeja saw and threw the ball wide outside the off-stump, and the keeper completed the rest. He was batting well; Nipun did it in a bit of a rush of blood, and the shot was not needed another wicket for Jadeja a good one.
Saransh Jain has looked a lot better in this innings than he looked in the first innings. He has bowled a lot more tidily; also, the wicket has gone a bit slower. In the first innings, there were a lot of deliveries he tried to toss up and look for that turn, which was not there and he took a bit of pasting.
Brar has picked up Dinusha. The ball was short and wide and there to cut, which the batter did, but the lack of pace meant it went straight to the fielder. Brar has picked up his second wicket. Sri Lanka is just not getting to terms with his height; that extra bounce is causing them trouble.
Gurnoor Brar has come into the attack he has been quite good in the first innings with the lines and lengths he has bowled in the first innings, but this is the innings he has picked up a wicket. Given his quality, he might get an opportunity in this format of the game too sooner rather than later.
One of the things Sri Lankan batters will need to learn to do is convert their starts into big scores. This has been an issue for them even ODIs. Their batters look good for their 60s and 70s but these are the formats which need you to score big runs.
Ravindra Jadeja has picked up Bandara here. It was a pretty loose shot from the batter; he did not have to play that he managed to hang his bat for a delivery which could have left, and the ball took the edge to the slip, and Jaiswal who took a good low catch. Third wicket for Jadeja in this game.
This has been a good partnership between Bandara and Dhananjaya; they are batting with a good tempo and are keeping the balls away. After a brief spell from Prasidh, India has reverted to Siraj, who was quite brilliant in that morning session. The bowler who has not bowled yet in this game is Kuldeep Yadav.
Suthar again has been quite impressive today. He has put the ball in the right areas and got the revs on the ball quite nicely. He has looked the most threatening bowler and does seem like India's next premium spinner in the making. Prasidh from the other too has also bowled well.
Welcome back to the noon session here in Colombo. It was a good morning session in terms of how the game played out. India managed to bowl plenty of pace in that morning session; conditions too were conducive to it. We might see a lot more spin in this session.
That's the end of the morning session. It has been a bittersweet session for both sides. India did manage to pick three wickets, but Sri Lanka has also scored quite a lot of runs at a brisk pace. Mohammed Siraj has been the most impressive bowler of the lot. Do stay with us; we will be right back after the break.
Spin has been brought into the attack here with 10 minutes to go for the Lunch break, and it is Saransh Jain and Manav Suthar who are the tweakers. Jain had had his fair share of issues in the first innings, and he would hope to correct it this time around. Suthar, though, was quite superb.
It has been one of those sessions where the seamers have operated a lot. The conditions have been overcast, and the ball is nibbling a bit. In Sri Lanka, because of the humidity, the seamers tend to be always in the game on good wickets. If the surface is a rank-turner, that, though is a different thing altogether.
Gurnoor Brar has picked up the wicket here of Rathnanayake. It was a good-length delivery which the batter played in an awkward way and ended up cutting straight to the point fielder. An important wicket for Brar; he bowled well in the first innings without much success this will add to his confidence.
Madhuska is playing a good hand again in the middle. He was pretty good in the first innings and is continuing to bat well here. He does seem like a good prospect; he has good drives in him, and his intent has been quite superb. The selectors from Sri Lanka might want to see if he can score big today.
Aquib Nabi has come into the attack here. He has a fabulous record in Ranji cricket and is tailor-made for this format of the game. In the IPL, he did start a little poorly early on, but as the tournament went on in the later part, when he got his opportunities, he looked more in the groove.
We have reached the water break in the morning session here, and India would be pretty happy with their bowling performance today. Although one would have hoped India would have batted a little longer today, with Padikkal and Jadeja getting a bit more time in the middle and then declaring later.
This has been a very good spell from Siraj and Krishna, and they are bowling elongated spells here. If they can do this consistently during the course of the Test series, that will help the spinners become more effective when they have to come and bowl to the middle-order batters instead of the openers who are well set.
Prasidh Krishna has picked up Pasindu here. The ball angled into the batter, and there was no feet moment, but the batter went with the drive anyway, and the ball rattled the middle stump. Indian bowlers are looking in better rhythm today than they looked in the first innings.
Mohammed Siraj has always been a thorn in the flesh of the Sri Lankan side. The batters have not been able to deal with Siraj's wobble-seam deliveries, which have been quite hard to deal with. It might have to do with the height of the Sri Lankan batters and the skiddy nature of Siraj.
Mohammed Siraj has got the first wicket here. He has been quite superb with the ball today; it is Ravindu whom the Hyderabadi has got rid of. He is in the middle of a superb spell is Siraj. Pasindu has walked into the middle. He too played a good hand in the first innings.
Both Prasidh and Siraj have started well here in the morning session. They would want to pick up a few wickets with this new ball. It is also time to experiment with a few cutters and wobble-seam deliveries with the new ball for both, just to see how the surface responds.
Madhuska and Ravindu are in the middle; both played pretty good hands in the first innings. The former especially was quite attacking against the Indian seamers, while the latter was a little more methodical about the way he went.
Sri Lanka is batting today. The weather looks a little cloudy; the Indian new-ball bowlers might get a bit of swing and seam on offer here. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were a bit too full in the first innings, which the Sri Lankan openers made the most of.
The Sri Lanka cricket board on Friday announced that fans will be allowed free entry during Sri Lanka’s upcoming two-Test series against India, starting August 15 in Galle. The first Test match will be held in the Galle International Stadium while the SSC in Colombo will host the second match from August 23-27.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that public admission to the upcoming Test Series between Sri Lanka and India will be free of charge thus providing cricket fans with an excellent opportunity to witness world-class Test cricket,” SLC stated in a release. (Read more)
Only weeks after he put on the Ranji Trophy whites for Madhya Pradesh for the first time in the winter of 2014, Saransh Jain’s cricket career took on a new purpose. On Tuesday, the goal attained fulfilment — a maiden India Test call-up realising his ailing father’s dream.
Subodh Jain could not talk to his son when he returned from a tour to Australia with an Indore club shortly after his First-Class debut 12 years ago. A former MP Ranji Trophy off-spinner himself, Subodh was diagnosed with mouth cancer. (Read more from Lalith Kalidas)
Sri Lanka XI (Batting XI, fielding XI): Nishan Madushka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha(c), Anjala Bandara(w), Nipun Dhananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asanka Manoj, Isitha Wijesundera, Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Keshara Nuwantha, Ravindu Rasantha
India ((Batting XI, fielding XI)): Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar
Hello and welcome to our live blog of India taking on Sri Lanka. Padikkal batted like a dream yesterday. It will be interesting to see if India wants to bat or if they will declare. Do stay with us for all the live updates.
Well, Gurnoor Brar hit a few hefty blows at the end to close out India. The star of the show, though, was at the other end, remaining unbeaten in Devdutt Padikkal. It is a good day of cricket; Indian batters would be happy with the time they have got in the middle. That's it from us. Do join us tomorrow for the final day.
It seems like we have one more over left in the day's play. The light has played out pretty well, and Sri Lanka has gone with Lahiru Kumara for the final over of the day's play. He has been pretty rapid and has been trying to bounce out Gurnoor Brar here. Good batting effort, though, by India.
Devdutt Padikkal continues to bat like a dream in the middle here. He has looked untroubled in the morning and afternoon sessions, and he continues to impress. With Sai Sudharsan missing out on the series, it might be Padikkal's opportunity to score big runs and make the spot his own.
The second new ball has been taken here by Sri Lanka. Vishwa Fernando has been brought into the attack alongside Ishita. We are extending the day's play as we had a little bit of rain in the morning. The sun is shining quite brightly; we might have another 20 minutes of play before closing it out.
Only weeks after he put on the Ranji Trophy whites for Madhya Pradesh for the first time in the winter of 2014, Saransh Jain’s cricket career took on a new purpose. On Tuesday, the goal attained fulfilment — a maiden India Test call-up realising his ailing father’s dream.
Subodh Jain could not talk to his son when he returned from a tour to Australia with an Indore club shortly after his First-Class debut 12 years ago. A former MP Ranji Trophy off-spinner himself, Subodh was diagnosed with mouth cancer. (Read more from Lalith Kalidas)
Ravindra Jadeja, too is padded up seems like India will continue to bat even if another wicket falls as long as they can. Saransh and Padikkal are in the middle at the moment. Saransh, with the ball yesterday, was a little off. He would hope to get a few runs here and contribute to the team staying in contention.
Mohammed Siraj too has fallen here; it was a simple caught and bowled for Manoj. Devdutt Padikkal has walked into the middle again to continue his innings. He scored a century and was batting like a dream before he walked back. He has walked to the crease again is indicative of India wanting to prolong their innings.
Manav Suthar has fallen here. Manoj's delivery has hit the pads of the batter. On the first viewing, it did seem like it was pitched outside the leg stump, but the umpire thought otherwise. A good innings, though held his end up nicely. Saransh Jain is the new batter who has walked into the middle.
Well, Kuldeep Yadav has retired here, and Mohammed Siraj is the new batter to walk in. Well, it seems like India would want to bowl again today with lower lights and a new ball. Siraj's batting, though, is pretty entertaining to watch; he does give a good hoik against the balls when it is in his arc.
Kuldeep Yadav is a pretty handy batter; while he might not have the range of shots within him, he can hold an end up and push the ball for the singles when and if needed. He played a key part in the famous win against England in Ranchi in the first innings, partnering with Dhruv Jurel when India were in trouble.
Ravindra Jadeja has retired out here. He did spend time in the middle; he decided he had had enough time. Kuldeep Yadav is the new batter who has walked into the middle. Again, another player who needs to spend time in the middle. He had a decent bowling performance yesterday; he will need to spend time in the middle just to have that extra factor to get picked.
Suthar has been showing a bit of aggression in the last few overs. He has been taking the bowler on and scoring some quick runs. We are also getting to that time of the day when Sri Lankan bowlers would be a bit tired and offer more loose deliveries, and it might be the right time to capitalise on it.
Vishwa Fernando has come back into the attack. He had a good spell in the morning, and he might look to see if there is a reverse on offer. With his angle, he will get the ball to get back into both Jadeja and Suthar, but the killer delivery will be the one that goes away from the left-handers.
This is a nice 50-run stand by Suthar and Jadeja. Both the left-handers have batted pretty sensibly. This is the strength of the Indian side: when the top order gets down, these all-rounders or bowlers who can bat a bit walk in to frustrate the opposition. And Sri Lanka has to be wary of this part.
Manav Suthar's technique against spin has looked superb so far. He has been coming forward nicely and defending, and his backfoot game has been quite nice. He has faced 45 balls, which shows he has good temperament. The next Test will see how he responds to quick fast bowling.
Ravindra Jadeja is closing in on a half-century here. It is a pretty fluid innings; batting has been his strength in recent times. And he is showing it today once again. One issue which does hang the bat outside the off-stump for a very wide delivery, which can be left and Sri Lanka tried to get him that way without much success.
Suthar and Jadeja are showing no signs of aggression at the moment in the middle. It seems like India wants to just keep batting as long as they can. They still have tomorrow to bat on. Washington Sundar is not in yet, so we might see Kuldeep Yadav bat out to the middle. He has been left out of the side too many times recently because of his skills with the bat.
We are back for the final session of the day. India has lost four wickets, and Manav Suthar, alongside Ravindra Jadeja, was in the middle. Suthar was looking solid before the break as he defended pretty well. It will be interesting to see if he will play a few shots in this session, as the last one, by the time he came to bat it was survival.
That is a tea break here in Colombo. It was a good session for Sri Lanka. India were cruising, but like it always happens in the subcontinent, when wickets start to fall, they come in clusters. Of all the wickets, Dhruv Jurel would be the batter who will be disappointed. When your place is not guaranteed in the side, that is when you have to cash in, which is what he failed to do here. Do stay with us; we will be right back.
Manav Suthar has walked into the middle. This is a pretty interesting move from India. Suthar's batting is something to be seen. His bowling has been quite superb, and there have been talks about his batting being superb. Runs here might do him a world of good going into the Test series. Where his runs down the order may become quite handy.
Dhruv Jurel has fallen here. He tried to work the ball on the leg side and ended up giving the catch to the short-leg fielder, which popped, and the keeper took the catch. India is losing their way a bit here. Jurel needed the runs more than anyone, as he is the player who can be in or out of the side, and his scores have been a little inconsistent.
Rishabh Pant has departed; it is the most Pant way to get out. In fact, the mid-off man was sent back, and Pant tried to be aggressive and hit the ball straight to the man on the boundary. Well, it might look like a wasted opportunity, but that is how Pant bats regardless of the situation or kind of game.
Padikkal has scored a ton here. What a brilliant innings this has been from the southpaw. Reservations can be made about the quality of the bowlers, but still the way he has driven and cut has been quite magnificent. And as soon as he has scored his century, he has retired himself. Rishabh Pant is the new batter that has come in.
150 up for India; it has been a pretty good performance from them today. They have lost an early wicket in Yashasvi Jaiswal, but the partnership between KL Rahul and Padikkal was quite fruitful, and Ravindra Jadeja has walked into the middle who took looked solid since coming in.
Padikkal is closing in on a century here. He is batting pretty nicely in the middle; it will be a very good century if he gets there. Although Sai Sudharsan has been batting at number three, he has not been able to make that statement score to make the position his own. The form of Padikkal has been quite good, and he has batted splendidly well here in the middle.
The Sri Lanka cricket board on Friday announced that fans will be allowed free entry during Sri Lanka’s upcoming two-Test series against India, starting August 15 in Galle. The first Test match will be held in the Galle International Stadium while the SSC in Colombo will host the second match from August 23-27.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that public admission to the upcoming Test Series between Sri Lanka and India will be free of charge thus providing cricket fans with an excellent opportunity to witness world-class Test cricket,” SLC stated in a release. (Read more)
Nice partnership brewing between Padikkal and Jadeja here. The former continues to bat well at a good tempo while the latter is getting his eye in. Jadeja has been consistent with the bat in recent times, and his doing well at six is pretty important and as the softer ball will be easier to work against.
Kumara has come into the attack, and he is bowling the short ones here. It seems like a good strategy as the surface is not offering a lot to the bowlers. Kesara did turn a few, but it seemed to be the deliveries which went with the angle rather than actually turning. And to be fair, Kumara's short deliveries are troubling the batters a bit here.
Ravindra Jadeja is the new batter who has walked into the middle, and as soon as he has come in, the Sri Lankans have turned to Lahiru Kumara. He has a tendency early on his innings to drag his bat across to the fourth stump, and it seems like that might be the ploy, as Kumara has started to pitch the ball outside the off-stump.
Nuwantha has picked up KL Rahul. The batter was looking to play a few more shots in this session, and it was the result of that. He tried to slog sweep and lost his stumps. It was a good tidy innings, though. From Rahul, one would assume he looked good; in the actual game, he will not play a rash shot as such.
Devdutt Padikkal has scored his half-century here. It is a pretty good innings from the batter; right from the time he walked into the middle, he has looked in superb touch, and it has been a pretty breezy knock from him. In the form he has been in recent times, he is making a strong case for himself to start in that lineup.
Sri Lanka has started the session with spinners from both ends. With a left-hander and right-hander in the middle, they have opted to go with both styles of finger spinners. This will be a test for the Indian batters during the actual series itself, so it will be a nice time to see Rahul, especially what methods he has developed to tackle the spin challenge.
We are back with the live action here in Colombo. The rain has cleared out, and we will resume soon. We have lost about 20 minutes, and the lunch break has been taken in the middle, so we might have an extended day today because of that. Both Rahul and Padikkal are in the middle, and we will resume here.
Play to resume at 12:27 PM in Colombo
The Sri Lanka cricket board on Friday announced that fans will be allowed free entry during Sri Lanka’s upcoming two-Test series against India, starting August 15 in Galle. The first Test match will be held in the Galle International Stadium while the SSC in Colombo will host the second match from August 23-27.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that public admission to the upcoming Test Series between Sri Lanka and India will be free of charge thus providing cricket fans with an excellent opportunity to witness world-class Test cricket,” SLC stated in a release. (Read more)
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. (Read more)
Although India fought back steadily through the afternoon and evening sessions, the hosts ensured the visitors had to work hard throughout the day in sultry conditions that tested every bowling option under consideration.
The strongest audition perhaps came in the form of seamer Gurnoor Brar and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who seem ready to take on a crucial role during the series. READ MORE
Well, we have a pause, folks. Rain has stopped play here in Colombo. It seems like a passing shower, and India would hope that is all it is. They would want not just Rahul and Padikkal but a few of the other batters too to spend some time in the middle. Of course, there is still tomorrow to come. But do stay with us; we will give you all the updates.
Ravindra Jadeja is padded up, so he might be the next batter to walk in. He will have to play an important role in the upcoming series, both with the bat and ball. His form with the bat has been quite superb, but it is with the ball he is not the same as he was before. Having said that, he had a decent outing yesterday.
We have reached the water break, and apart from the wicket, India has batted pretty well here. Both KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal have scored some lovely boundaries and have looked solid in defence. Sri Lankan bowling, on the other hand, did look decent. They have tried a few things in field placements and bowling changes without a lot of success.
Ramesh Mendis has come into the attack from the other end and started with a full toss, and on the fourth ball of the over who bowled a classic off-spinner's delivery to Padikkal. That, in short, sums up the career of Ramesh Mendis, the Test cricketer. He has very high skills but also tends to keep bowling that odd bad delivery every over.
Sri Lanka has made a bowling change here, bringing in another seamer, Isitha, at Kumara's end. He had a good spell; Kumara has been touted as the next good seam bowler in Sri Lankan cricket, which he has to manage to deliver a few times and on occasion he has taken a bit of pasting, but off late he seems to be getting into that age of maturity and starting to bowl well more consistently.
Both the Indian batters are settling nicely into their innings. KL Rahul is leaving the ball quite nicely and waiting for his opportunity to pounce. His challenge in the upcoming series will not be to just see off the new ball but also to score big runs. He is in that phase in his Test career where his role is clear as an opener, and he is pretty sound technically.
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. (Read more)
Padikkal is looking in superb touch here. He has had a very good IPL, and the drives are coming off exceptionally well off his bat. If Shubman Gill misses the first Test due to injury, it might be a case of Padikkal coming in. He has grown leaps and bounds in recent years. Padikkal's batting has really gone up a few notches.
Devdutt Padikkal has played a couple of lovely drives already in his innings. The wicket continues to look good here in Colombo. It is a good opportunity for batters to spend some time in the middle and dig their feet in and experience the conditions. Sri Lanka is a lot more humid than what Indian players experience in India. It can be quite sapping.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has fallen here; it was a bit of a nothing dismissal. Vishwa Fernando dished out a wide delivery which was there to cut, but Jaiswal ended up cutting it straight to backward point. Well, one would assume he would not play a shot with that high risk this early in his innings in the actual game. Devdutt Padikkal is the new man who has walked in.
Well, India are batting, folks; Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul have come into the middle. It is a tad bit overcast compared to the conditions we witnessed yesterday. It is going to be fascinating to see how India go about their batting innings, especially against the spinners when they come on later in the day.
The Sri Lanka cricket board on Friday announced that fans will be allowed free entry during Sri Lanka’s upcoming two-Test series against India, starting August 15 in Galle. The first Test match will be held in the Galle International Stadium while the SSC in Colombo will host the second match from August 23-27.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that public admission to the upcoming Test Series between Sri Lanka and India will be free of charge thus providing cricket fans with an excellent opportunity to witness world-class Test cricket,” SLC stated in a release. (Read more)
India arrived in Colombo with only one warm-up match before the two-Test series against Sri Lanka starting on August 15, leaving little time to settle the two biggest selection questions in their bowling attack: who partners Mohammed Siraj in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, and who shares the spin workload with Ravindra Jadeja. At the end of the opening day of the three-day warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Club on Friday, Gurnoor Brar and Manav Suthar had strengthened their respective cases, while Prasidh Krishna struggled to make a positive impression. (Read more from Shankar Narayan)
India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant took to social media on Saturday night and sought an urgent intervention from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over land acquisition issues in his home state.
The 28-year-old Pant, who is currently featuring in India’s three-day practice match on the tour to Sri Lanka in Colombo, took to X (formerly Twitter) and conveyed that he wanted to buy land in Uttarakhand to shift his base from Delhi back to his hometown. (Read more)
Only weeks after he put on the Ranji Trophy whites for Madhya Pradesh for the first time in the winter of 2014, Saransh Jain’s cricket career took on a new purpose. On Tuesday, the goal attained fulfilment — a maiden India Test call-up realising his ailing father’s dream.
Subodh Jain could not talk to his son when he returned from a tour to Australia with an Indore club shortly after his First-Class debut 12 years ago. A former MP Ranji Trophy off-spinner himself, Subodh was diagnosed with mouth cancer. (Read more from Lalith Kalidas)
Although India fought back steadily through the afternoon and evening sessions, the hosts ensured the visitors had to work hard throughout the day in sultry conditions that tested every bowling option under consideration.
The strongest audition perhaps came in the form of seamer Gurnoor Brar and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who seem ready to take on a crucial role during the series. READ MORE
That is the end of the day's play. India will be fairly happy with the proceedings. They have picked up eight wickets and managed to give all their bowlers a decent spell. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would have been hoping the starts the young batters have got initially could have been converted to a century. That's it from us folks. Do join us tomorrow.
Manav Suthar has been brought into the attack, and he has picked up Sonal. The batter tried to sweep the ball and was trapped in front of the wicket and was given out LBW straight away by the umpire. He has looked the best bowler for India today; his lines and lengths have been pretty immaculate.
Ravindra Jadeja has picked up Mendis here. The batter thought it was good enough to cut the ball, but Jadeja once again showed that it is that delivery which tends to skid on, and the batter edged it to Padikkal at slip, who took a wonderful catch. Second wicket for Jadeja today; he will be pretty happy with his work today.
Ravindra Jadeja and Gurnoor Brar are the bowling combination change which India went with. It was a little strange decision to take Jadeja out of the attack when they did. He was just starting to get into some sort of rhythm with his bowling; it was very important for India that Jadeja did well here.
It has been a good long spell from Kuldeep Yadav, and India seems not to want to take the new ball and continue with what they have here. Ideally, a spell from Prasidh Krishna to close out the day might not be a bad ploy, just to see how much he has left in the tank at this stage of the day. When it comes to a real game situation, he might have to come and bowl.
Saransh Jain has had an okayish day. It is not something he would be proud of; he would have liked to pick up a few wickets in the bag, but things did not go his way. To be fair to him, the conditions have been pretty batter-friendly, and he tried to get his wickets the conventional way, which seemed a little outdated.
Ramesh Mendis has walked into the middle for Sri Lanka. He might be one of the players who will start next week for the national side. He is a pretty good batter and also a more than handy off-spinner. Someone who can bowl that magic ball from time to time to pick wickets, but consistency has not been his forte.
Kuldeep Yadav has picked up Anjala and broken through the resistance Sri Lanka were showing in the middle. He is quite a hard bowler to bat against when not faced previously. And that is what seems to have happened to Anjala. He is getting into a good rhythm here, and if Kuldeep gets a few more wickets in this game...might do him a world of good.
Kuldeep Yadav has been a tad bit expensive today. Most of the runs scored against him came when the batters took him on earlier in the morning. In this spell, he has been bowling decently, not to the standards we know he can deliver, but by only bowling more and more, he will get into some sort of rhythm by the first game. As we update, Kuldeep picks Anjala.
It might not be a bad ploy for India to consider bringing in Saransh Jain and giving him a few overs. In his first spell, he did toss up a few, and the batters took him down quite easily, but now, with both batters trying to play within themselves, Jain might get into his spell nicely and get a bit of exposure.
After a few quick wickets, Sri Lankan batters Dinusha and Bandara have toned down a bit with their aggression. They are batting a little cautiously and might be waiting to keep the wickets preserved before the second new ball if India does take it. If they lose a wicket here, that will mean they will expose a lower-order batter to the brand new ball.
It is Siraj and Kuldeep who are operating at the moment. For the majority of the day, apart from the first few overs, India have tried to go with a seamer from one end and a spinner from the other. We might see them do the same during the Test series unless they start turning from the first ball, which can be expected in these parts of the world.
This has been a good passage for India. Since Jadeja has picked up a wicket in the noon session of Pasindu, Sri Lanka has not been able to stitch a partnership. The emphasis has been more on attacking shots, which is not a wrong thing to do, but the moments they have picked to attack the bowlers are a tad bit questionable.
Kuldeep Yadav has picked up Ahaan. It was a sweep shot the batter top-edged, and it went straight to Gurnoor Brar. Well, the way Sri Lanka is batting before the Tea break and after that is exposing their lack of experience among the youngsters at this level. They must learn how to navigate through these breaks.
Going back to Brar before the break, it was a bit of nothing shot from the batter, but the way he has hurried with pace and bounce is what makes Brar dangerous in these conditions. He can be quite lethal once the ball is a little old-ish; if he can start nailing that yorker in with the reversing ball with all the attributes he has, he can be one of the top bowlers in the world.
We are back for the final session of the evening. India did get better through the noon session, and they would want to create a few more inroads in this final session. They would want the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Saransh Jain to get a wicket apiece just to build some confidence going into the Test series.
That is Tea break here in Colombo. Brar has struck with the wicket of Rathnanayake. It has been a better session, but there are still a few rough edges to be ironed out from the bowling department. Saransh Jain, who had his opportunity to bowl, did a decent job. Manav Suthar, though, has once again been pretty impressive from the Sri Lankan perspective. Ravindu has batted well and he has been the star batter for Sri Lanka.
We are closing in on the tea break here, and although India has managed to pick up a couple of wickets, it has been another fruitful session for the Sri Lankans. They have managed to carry out the good work that they did in the morning; if anything, they would have wanted Ravindu to convert his start into a big three-digit score.
Gurnoor Brar has come back into the attack. He is the one bowler who has been pretty impressive with his pace and height. There is a pretty high possibility that he might make his Test match debut in the series in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Ideally, Prasidh and Siraj might start the series in the second match; there might be a chance for him to come in.
Manav Suthar has picked up the wicket of Ravindu, who was batting pretty well. It was a delivery tossed up wide outside the off-stump, and Ravindu tried to charge down the track and tried to hit over the top a bit of an unnecessary shot but Suthar gets his man. It is his ability to flight and deceive the batters that did the trick on that occasion.
200 up for Sri Lanka, and it has come at a good pace, and for most of that batting innings they have looked unscathed. Ravindu, who took his time initially, is playing a nice innings out here in the middle. It does seem like he will go on to score a century here; it will be a good one on his resume to make his case for the national side.
Well, off-spinner Saransh Jain has had his first over and has conceded seven runs. Well, it is not often a 32-year-old who has not been in the limelight gets picked in the Indian squad, but here is Jain. The surface is not offering a lot; it might be a case of him bowling tidily and hoping the mistake comes from the batters. Will be interesting to see if he gets picked next week in the starting eleven.
Manav Suthar has bowled quite tidily today. When he played his first game, he did not have Ravindra Jadeja, but in the upcoming series he will have Jadeja bowling next to him, who can guide him on what lines and lengths he can operate in the different situations he might face. A good learning curve ahead for Suthar in the upcoming series.
Ravindra Jadeja has got the breakthrough here. A few tidy overs from both ends, and Pasindu tried to pull the ball. The left-armer's delivery pitched and skidded through, and that is what makes Jadeja's lethal one the one which skids through, and the batters tend to completely get deceived by the pace.
Prasidh Krishna has come into the attack here. He can be the difference-maker at this stage of the innings with his height. He can hit his natural length and try and hope Sri Lankan batters find it hard. India can also have a square-leg fielder and create that doubt in the mind of the batter that a short ball is around the corner.
It is pretty refreshing to see how these young Sri Lankan batters have been batting. They have gone for their shots and scored at a brisk pace, which is how the modern Test batters bat. Sometimes the batters from Sri Lanka who have come to international cricket did find it hard to adjust to the tempo; either they have been too quick or too slow.
It will be interesting to see what the role of Washington Sundar is in this team when he returns. He is one person who can replace Jadeja in this batting lineup. He is very good with the bat, and with the ball, there is some work that needs to be done. The management has tried a few things with him without much success.
The misery continues to pile on the Indians in the noon session; both Ravindu and Pasindu have been quite superb with their batting and seem like they are resuming from where they left off in the morning session. Ravindra Jadeja, the way he has bowled today and in recent times, is a cause of concern for the management.
That's the end of the morning session. It has been all about Sri Lanka. Their batters Madhuska and Ravindu have been quite superb at the top. The former's approach would have taken India by a bit of surprise, and these are the kind of players Sri Lanka would need to fit into their Test line-up. Bowling, on the other hand, has been decent but could have been better. We will be back after the break, so stay with us.
Another nice partnership brewing between Pasindu and Ravindu. It does have a green tinge on the surface, but the ball did not do anything for the seamers early on. For a game which is only three days, one would say it is too much grass to leave. It is a good exposure to the Sri Lankan batters, though, facing these quality Indian bowlers on a flat track.
This is an important outing for Kuldeep Yadav. He has not been in the scheme of things in white-ball cricket, and in red-ball too his performances have dipped a bit in recent times. These surfaces, especially, are a little on the slower side, and he needs to give a bit more zip with the ball by himself, which has been an issue which haunted all through his career.
What a tame ending to Madhuska's innings here. He got himself run out. He was batting like a dream; probably that was the only way India could have gotten his wicket. They have brought in the bowling changes for the visitors in Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav. It will be very interesting to see how Suthar does.
Both Sri Lankan openers have put on a 100-run stand here in the middle. The pace at which they have got these runs has been quite impressive. Madhuska has looked pretty impressive with the way he has gone about his business here to start with. He seems to be a pretty classy player on the eye.
It has been a pretty curious case with Ravindra Jadeja. He just seems to be lacking that extra oomph in his bowling in recent times, which he used to have earlier. His odd ball tends to skid on quicker than usual, which has not been the case. Also, he has been taking quite a bit of time to get into rhtyhm and his spells in his games.
We have reached the water break, and it has been a pretty good start for Sri Lanka. Indian bowlers have been a little rusty to start with; they need to strike a few blows just to get their confidence going. Ravindra Jadeja is the new bowler who has come into the attack he needs to get a few wickets to get his confidence up as he has not been able to pick up wickets like he used to.
Madushka is batting quite well here. He has good technique about him, and the most important part is that he is scoring at a good clip, which is a handy feature to have when playing in the subcontinent as an opener. Once the ball gets a little older, it tends to start to grip and turn a little more, so it becomes easier to get those runs early on, especially in these conditions.
Sri Lankan openers are scoring at a brisk pace here. Prasidh Krishna is going for a few runs. It might be time for India to consider bringing the spinners into the attack. Manav Suthar, who has already impressed with his bowling in the first Test, might be the first option India turn to, given the presence of two right-handers.
It has been a weird international career for Prasidh Krishna. He has been quite superb in the ODI format and decent in red-ball cricket, but T20Is have not been very kind to him to start with. He would want to better his red-ball performances because his strength is in this format; bowling long spells, he is a pretty rhythm bowler.
Good start from both the Indian seamers; they are hitting that good length consistently but are erring in their line a bit at this point. In these conditions, when the new ball is at a premium, Krishna can push the ball a little further just because the swing is on offer only for a very limited period, and there also will be some new-ball moisture.
Sri Lanka has managed to get a few boundaries away to start their innings here early in the piece. Both Rasantha and Fernando seem to be pretty attacking in nature. Sri Lankan openers after Tilakaratne Dilshan have been quite one-dimensional in terms of their gameplay; they need a bit of flair up at the top to put pressure on the opposition.
Mohammed Siraj has taken the new ball for India. He has done quite well against the Lankans, albeit in a different format, but with the humid conditions in this part of the world, he tends to get a bit of swing and seam in the air, which he can enjoy. Prasidh Krishna has taken the new ball from the other end in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah; he will play a key part.
It is going to pretty thrilling day of cricket. India has not been in Sri Lanka for the last nine years. Although the conditions might be different to what we will get in the first Test, it will be a good game to see who does what and how the roles are distributed among players.
Sri Lanka XI (Batting XI, fielding XI): Nishan Madushka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha(c), Anjala Bandara(w), Nipun Dhananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asanka Manoj, Isitha Wijesundera, Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Keshara Nuwantha, Ravindu Rasantha
India (Batting XI, fielding XI): Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar
Here's a look at how India's active Test batters have fared in the series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa, their regressing spin shares emerging as a major problem in the transition.
An update from the BCCI says that Shubman Gill will not take the field on the opening day after India have been asked to bowl first.
"Captain Shubman Gill sustained an impact injury to his right ring finger during India's practice on Thursday. As a precautionary measure, he will not take the field on Day 1 of the warm-up game against SLC XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress," the statement read.
KL Rahul will lead the team in Gill's absence.
TOSS: SLC XI have won the toss and elected to bat first
India's batters have been found wanting during their last two home series defeats - a landmark 3-0 surrender to New Zealand and a 2-0 drubbing against South Africa last year. The lack of a specific batting template to take down visiting spinners have marred their averages and crushed India's overbearing home record.
Ahead of the crucial two-match tour in Sri Lanka that officially begins next week, the Indian batters have been sounded out to employ a fresh and positive approach against spin. Read more from Venkata Krishna B
The warm-up game could be dampened this morning with spells of rain in Colombo. According to the forecast, rain spells have been predicted throughout the day.
India Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar
Sri Lanka XI Squad: Nishan Madushka(w), Nipun Dhananjaya, Ravindu Rasantha, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha(c), Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Isitha Wijesundera, Asanka Manoj, Anjala Bandara, Keshara Nuwantha
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the first day of India's practice match against the SLC XI in Colombo. A rain threat looms large in the city as Shubman Gill's men aim to seize some important hours out in the Lankan conditions this weekend. Stay tuned for all updates as the match is slated to begin at 10 AM IST.
After back-to-back home whitewashes exposed India's batting against turn, India have arrived in Sri Lanka with a clear mandate: sweep the left-arm spin, step out to off-spin, or face the same trap that undid them against New Zealand and South Africa. (READ MORE)
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