KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal dominate as India take control of Galle Test against Sri Lanka

KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal produced contrasting unbeaten knocks to put India in command on the opening day of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka. Their 150-run partnership helped India reach 197/1 at tea as Sri Lanka’s bowlers struggled

Galle: Devdutt Padikkal and KL Rahul played contrasting knocks of unbeaten 84 and 77 respectively as India reached a commanding 197 for one at tea on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka here on Saturday.

Rahul flicked his Zen mode on during 162-ball knock while Padikkal mixed elegance and aggression to a nicety in his 122-ball innings.

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Together the Karnataka batters added 150 runs for the second wicket so far to give India a clear early advantage in this match.

As expected the Galle pitch remained batters’ ally throughout the day, offering true bounce and measurable pace.

Of course, spinners Prabath Jayasuriya, debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha and Dhananjaya de Silva did find some bounce and turn on occasions, but were too slow to trouble the Indian batters.

The lone moment of worry came when Nuwantha managed to find Rahul’s edge which narrowly eluded a diving short leg fielder.

But all that could not take the credit away from the two Indian batters who toyed with a good Lankan attack.

Rahul, who reached fifty in 127 balls, continued his stonewalling ways despite the pitch being a smooth one, and offered only rare glimpses of his shot-making skills.

He was a bit edgy to begin with, particularly against pacer Lahiru Kumara.

There was a play and miss and an edge that died in front of the gully fielder, but a pull off the same bowler for a boundary indicated his growing confidence.

The introduction of seasoned left-arm spinner Jayasuriya was meant to add a modicum of control to the proceedings.

But the Indian batters did not allow Sri Lanka’s primary weapon to settle into early rhythm.

Padikkal, who went past fifty in 81 balls, smacked him for a six, a little shimmy and a clean hit sending the ball soaring over long-on.

Rahul soon followed as Jayasuriya was creamed straight over his head for a maximum, and the right-hander also followed it up with a boundary in the same direction.

Both Rahul and Devdutt had to wait for an hour and 20 minutes into the second session to resume their duties, courtesy a delay caused by rain and wet outfield.

But once out in the sunny-again Galle outfield, there was no real stopping of them.

Padikkal nearly edged Nuwantha to the first slip but that only tightened his resolve, evidenced by a crunchy punch through the covers for a boundary off the Lankan.

Across the two sessions, Sri Lanka had only one moment of joy and that too because of the communication breakdown between Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37, 32b).

The horrible yes-no situation between them saw both the batters ending up at non-striker’s end with Jaiswal eventually having to walk off.

But that temporary set back did not affect India’s scoring rate as they motored around four an over.