Colombo: Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav (4/14) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/31) ran through the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI (SLBP) batting before opener KL Rahul (54, 58b, 7×4) made a solid return from injury on the opening day of the two-day warm-up tie, here Friday.
The home team were comfortably placed at 139 for one, thanks to the second wicket stand from opener Danushka Gunathilaka (74, 97b, 11×4) and Lahiru Thirimanne (59, 125b, 5×4, 2×6) before collapsing to 187 all out.
The match situation changed drastically after Thirimanne’s fall in the 38th over with the next nine batsmen adding 48 to the total in the innings lasting 55.5 overs.
All eight bowlers in the Indian squad had a go with chinaman Kuldeep and Jadeja doing most of the damage. Pacer Mohammed Shami (2/9) also supported them well.
When India went into bat they lost opener Abhinav Mukund (0) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12) cheaply. However, Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli (34 batting) steadied the ship. After Rahul’s departure, Ajinkya Rahane (30 batting) guided India to 135 for three at stumps.
Though Pujara stuck around for some time, it was an opportunity lost for Mukund, who is competing for the opening slot with Dhawan. Both Pujara and Mukund were bowled by left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando.
Kuldeep has been impressive ever since he made his Test debut against Australia in March before making an impact in the limited-overs series in the West Indies.
The focus for India will be to ensure the other batsmen get a go in the middle including Dhawan, who has made his way back to the Test team after a string of good performances in limited overs format.
Brief scores: SLBP XI 187 (Danushka Gunathilaka 74, Lahiru Thirimanne 59; Kuldeep Yadav 4/14, Ravindra Jadeja 3/31); India 135/3 (KL Rahul 54, Virat Kohli 34 batting; Vishwa Fernando 2/21).
Press Trust of India