By Devdutt Padikkal’s century powered India to 168 for 2 in reply to Sri Lanka XI’s first innings total of 363 for 8 declared, on day two of the Colombo warm-up match.
Sri Lanka XI’s total came off half-centuries from Nishan Fernando (66) and Ravindu Rasantha (71), plus 52 from captain Sonal Dinusha, before India’s spin bowlers finished off the innings.
India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early, for a two-ball duck in the second over to Vishwa Fernando, before KL Rahul and Padikkal steadied the innings with a 96-run partnership.
Rahul was dismissed for 40 off 67 balls, having struck five fours and a six, while Padikkal continued to his century after a dropped caught-and-bowled chance the ball before.
India trailed by 195 runs with the match still ongoing, as the tourists sought to build a competitive reply.
The warm-up fixture is India’s final preparation before the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins on August 15, 2026, with captain Shubman Gill’s finger injury continuing to be assessed.
The three-day warm-up fixture at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo is India’s final assignment before the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins on August 15, 2026.
Vice-captain KL Rahul has continued to lead the side through the warm-up fixture, with head coach Gautam Gambhir overseeing preparations for a squad featuring several relatively new faces in the Test set-up.
Sri Lanka XI had declared their first innings at 363 for 8 on day one, with Nishan Fernando making 66, Ravindu Rasantha 71, captain Sonal Dinusha 52 and Ramesh Mendis 32.
Kuldeep Yadav finished with figures of 2 for 76 for India, while Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar also picked up wickets as India’s spinners shared the workload against Sri Lanka XI’s middle order.
Jaiswal’s dismissal for a two-ball duck, bowled by Vishwa Fernando in the second over, gave Sri Lanka XI an early breakthrough before Rahul and Padikkal steadied India’s reply.
Photo by Storm machine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
