Padikkal's maiden ton gives India opening day honours

Devdutt Padikkal's maiden ton in international cricket headlined India's dominant opening day in the first Test at Galle. Padikkal remained unbeaten on 131 and was involved in a massive stand alongside KL Rahul, who retired hurt on 77, to give India early command in the opening Test of the series. On a rain-hit day, India made 288/2 in 73 overs.

India had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss as they opted for a bowling combination of two pacers and three spinners with Prasidh Krishna holding on to his spot ahead of Gurnoor Brar. Thehome side handed a debut to Keshara Nuwantha while also welcoming back Niroshan Dickwella to their XI after more than three years.

Yashasvi Jaiswal found the boundary in the opening over of the Test match whereas Rahul took ten deliveries for his first run which was also his first boundary. Lahiru Kumara proved to be expensive with the new ball as Jaiswal hit him for three boundaries before Rahul added one that forced a bowling change.

Against the run of play, Jaiswal found himself unlucky to get run out as he collided with the bowler at the non-striker's end. This caused a commotion as both batters were left stranded at the same end that resulted in Jaiswal heading back to the pavilion. But what followed suit was a period of dominance from India. Padikkal, looking to make a mark in the absence of Sai Sudharsan, grabbed his opportunity with both hands. The left-hander smashed his very first delivery for a boundary before coming down the track against Prabath Jayasuriya to hammer him over long on for a six that forced the mid-on fielder to be moved near the boundary early.

Despite batting in a sedate and watchful fashion, Rahul broke free against the left-arm spinner to smash a six, just like Padikkal did. The No.3 took little time to go past his state teammate as India continued to dominate. However, play didn't resume immediately after the lunch break because of rain. With more than an hour lost, play finally got underway in the second session at 2 PM local time. While the break didn't change Sri Lanka's fortunes, both Rahul and Padikkal began watchfully.Rahul finally got the first boundary after resumption with a cut through cover-point and Padikkal, who had gone past fifty, hit one through cover off Jayasuriya to regain his rhythm.

The bowling changes didn't pay dividends for the hosts as India continued to motor along with Rahul also going past his fifty by now. The Karnataka duo got through the session unscathed but Rahul did show signs of cramp that eventually forced him off the field when he attempted to get back to the pitch after the Tea break. That didn't deter Padikkal, who entered the 90s with successive boundaries before reaching three figures for the first time in international cricket. Sri Lanka braced themselves to witness another Indian batter occupy the crease for a considerable period of time when Shubman Gill appeared to be in glorious touch with a couple of cover drives. However, Jayasuriya's hard toil finally resulted in a wicket as the Indian captain mistimed a shot while attempting to hit big, with the ball turning sufficiently after pitching.

Another frustrating spell of rain forced the players off the field for 20 minutes but India continued to bat in positive fashion once play resumed. Rishabh Pant, tied down initially, broke free with a mistimed boundary off Nuwantha before Padikkal added to his boundary tally a couple of times against the same bowler in his following over. In typical fashion, Pant then went after Jayasuriya for a six and a four as Sri Lanka continued to leak runs even at the fag end of the day's play, with the duo adding over fifty runs in their partnership before stumps.

Brief scores: India 288/2 (Devdutt Padikkal 131*, KL Rahul 77; Prabath Jayasuriya 1-77) vs Sri Lanka