India made a dominating return to red-ball cricket finishing on 135 for 3 in response to Sri Lanka Board President’s XI ‘s 187 at stumps on day one of the two-day practise game at Tyronne Fernando Stadium, Moratuwa on Friday (July 21). The top-ranked Test side team were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 89 for 3 but Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane shared an unbeaten partnership of 46 runs to put the visitors firmly on top.
Earlier, Lahiru Thirimanne’s decision to bat first looked to be a good one as Danushka Gunathilaka and the captain added over hundred runs to help Sri Lanka Board President’s XI recover from an early setback when Kaushal Silva was sent back by Mohammed Shami for only 4. At 139 for 1, the hosts were thoroughly dominating the proceedings before Ravindra Jadeja turned the day around for India by dismissing Thirimanne for 59. Three balls later, Jadeja struck once again, dismissing Dhananjaya de Silva for a duck before Gunathilaka’s 74-run knock ended due to a run out as Sri Lanka Board President’s XI found themselves reeling at 141 for 4 and then 141 for 5 from a promising position of 139 for 1. The hosts could not recover from the flurry of wickets as Kuldeep Yadav ran through the lower order to end the Board President’s XI’s innings on just 187.
In reply, India went off to a poor start with Abhinav Mukund squandering yet another chance as he was dismissed for a duck. A 45-run partnership between KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara then steadied the ship before the latter became Vishwa Fernando’s second victim. Rahul was the third and the last Indian wicket to fall on an opening day but before that, the opening batsman, who was making a return from injury, made an immediate impact by scoring 54. Another wicket would have evened the day but an unbeaten partnership of 46 runs between Rahane and Kohli helped India to grab the opening day honours. And with the platform already led for a good total, India’s middle-order batsmen would be looking to get into the groove ahead of the three-match Test series.
Brief score:
India 135 for 3 (Rahul 54, Kohli 34*, Rahane 30*) trail Sri Lanka Board President’s XI 187 (Gunathilaka 74, Thirimanne 59, Kuldeep 4-14) by 52 runs