Devdutt Padikkal struck a century as India reached 168 for 2 in reply to Sri Lanka XI’s first innings total of 363 for 8 declared, on day two of the three-day warm-up match in Colombo.
Sri Lanka XI’s total was anchored by half-centuries from Nishan Fernando (66) and Ravindu Rasantha (71) and 52 from captain Sonal Dinusha, with India’s spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar sharing the wickets to close out the innings.
India’s reply opened shakily, with Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissed for a two-ball duck in the second over, before KL Rahul (40) and Padikkal built a 96-run stand that steadied the innings and set up Padikkal’s century.
For a squad navigating a Test series without its regular captain Shubman Gill, who continues to be assessed for a finger injury sustained before the fixture, a warm-up century from a batter fighting for a settled middle-order spot is a useful data point for selectors.
Padikkal’s innings, which included surviving a dropped caught-and-bowled chance, is the kind of performance that builds a case for inclusion when the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka begins on August 15, 2026.
With India trailing by 195 runs as the match continues, the remainder of this warm-up fixture will offer further evidence of how deep the squad’s batting order can go under pressure heading into the series proper.
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.
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.
Photo by Storm machine, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0