Colombo, Aug 8 (IANS) Left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal pushed his case for a place in India’s playing eleven for the first Test with a fluent unbeaten 142 on day two of warm-up clash against Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Ground here on Saturday.
With regular top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan ruled out of the opening Test and remaining a major doubtful starter for the second Test due to a right big toe injury, Padikkal made full use of the opportunity. He dominated the hosts bowling attack with an aggressive knock worth 164 balls and featured 18 boundaries.
Apart from him, Ravindra Jadeja spent ample time at the crease to hit 63 while Manav Suthar complied 41 and Gurnoor Brar applied finishing fireworks by hitting 36 not out off just 18 balls, including two fours and four sixes, to take India to 357/6 in 90 overs and be only six runs away from overhauling the hosts score of 363/8 declared
In the morning session, India had an early setback when Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for a two-ball duck in the first over – pushing at a wide delivery from left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando and offered a catch at gully. The early dismissal brought Padikkal to the crease, but the southpaw quickly turned the pressure back on the hosts.
Displaying technical discipline, Padikkal hit some lovely drives, anchored a vital 96-run stand with KL Rahul (40) to steady the innings. Rahul left the ball quite nicely and waited for his opportunity to pounce on loose balls and sent them to the boundary rope. After a passing shower halted the game, Rahul fell to offspinner Kesara Nuwantha in an attempt to slog-sweep off him.
With Padikkal driving and cutting well and Jadeja in great touch, India easily crossed 150 before the former reached his century. Padikkal then retired out at 103 to allow other batters time in the middle. But after that, India suffered a wobble – Rishabh Pant perished while trying to play a big shot off Mendis, while Dhruv Jurel was caught by the keeper.
Suthar and Jadeja took their time before the latter got his fifty, while the former showcased his forward defence skills against spinners, as the duo shared a 76-run stand. After Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav retired out, Suthar was trapped lbw while Mohammed Siraj fell to a simple caught and bowled chance.
Though Saransh Jain retired out after hitting 22 off 45 balls, Padikkal continued to bat exquisitely and fetch boundaries in a quick manner. Gurnoor, after being troubled a bit by bouncers, flexed his muscles by hitting Mendis over long-off, before smacking Dilum Sudeera for four sixes to end a good batting day for India ahead of the series starting on August 15 in Galle. With Sudharsan unavailable, Padikkal’s rich vein of form gives head coach Gautam Gambhir a reliable like-for-like option to bat at number three spot.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka Cricket XI 363/8 dec in 90 overs (Ravindu Rasantha 71, Nishan Madushka 66; Manav Suthar 2-33, Ravindra Jadeja 2-64) trail India 357/6 in 90 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 142 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 63; Asanka Manoj 2-32, Ramesh Mendis 2-77) by six runs
–IANS
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