Now to have a ball in Galle

On most days, if the Indian batting lineup lost seven wickets for 172 runs, with only 43 overs possible because of rain, there would be much head-scratching about the collapse. But context is everything in Test cricket, and at 460 for 9 after Day 2 of the first Test in Galle, India are well placed in the first Test against Sri Lanka.

The pitch, which was under covers for a lot of the day, offered enough assistance to the spinners on Sunday, and India will know that they are comfortably ahead of the game.

Read more: Padikkal rises to the occasion: Drafted in after Sudharsan’s injury, Devdutt repays the faith with a maiden century


When Sri Lanka took the second new ball, as soon as it was available, the tempo changed. Keshara Nuwantha, the debutant off spinner, struck with only the fifth ball delivered with the new Kookaburra. Rishabh Pant had decided that he wanted to get a move on and gave the bowler the charge, but an attempt to hit the ball too hard meant that the batsman lost his shape and ended up spearing a catch to the fielder at mid-off. Pant had made 39, by no means a failure, but the manner of his dismissal, an impulsive shot, will give the coaching staff something to think about, especially because of what followed.

KL Rahul, who had done all the hard work on the first day, could add only five to his score, clipping Nuwantha straight to the man at short leg. Rahul has grown into one of the pillars of this Test top order, and the only disappointing thing about his 82 was that he did not push on to a century, and more.

Read more: Cricket: Padikkal smashes ton at No 3, India eye big total

Devdutt Padikkal, whose poise and control at the crease were admirable, made the most of his chance, and his first major mistake cost him his wicket. The left-hand batter came forward to the left-arm spin of Prabath Jayasuriya but played inside the line, and Niroshan Dickwella completed a smart stumping. Padikkal’s 167 was the fourth highest score by an Indian in Sri Lanka, behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Shikhar Dhawan. For the moment, the No 3 position is Padikkal’s even if the opportunity only came to him through a toe injury to Sai Sudharsan.

With a bit of a wobble on, Dhruv Jurel repaid the ample faith the coach has in him, bedding down to help himself to a stabilising 51. Jurel, playing as a specialist batsman, even with Sarfaraz Khan in the squad, has been a calming influence on the Indian batting line-up. Compact at the crease and never too ambitious or adventurous, Jurel goes about playing the ball on merit and accumulating runs. While he may not have one stand-out shot, or a signature to fall back on, the right-hander is quietly making himself an invaluable part of this batting line-up.

When you consider India’s start—236 for 1 when Shubman Gill fell—anything short of 600 would look like they underperformed as a group. But, given that barely four sessions of play have been possible—a total of 116 overs—Gill will know that his team has done what they needed to even if they did not manage to get to where they wanted.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers were guilty of not asking enough questions on the first day and were not helped by the lack of control from the quick bowlers, especially Lahiru Kumara, who went for 76 from 13 overs.

India would have taken note of this. While the spinners will play a major part, especially Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, whose natural mode of operation is to attack the stumps, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will have a role to play. More than anything, they need to keep things tight while in operation, allowing the spinners the leeway they need to attack.

The major concern was that the forecast for the coming days was not great, with rain expected to interrupt play. In Galle, the rain can come in with no notice, blue skies and bright sunshine disappearing in a flash. But, equally, an hour later there may be no sign that it even rained. It is the race against this clock that will give the Indian team most anxiety, because they will be confident that they have the bowlers to deliver a result in these conditions.