India lost two early wickets on the first morning of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, slipping to 66 for 2 after 17 overs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (45) and KL Rahul (18) both dismissed after India chose to bat first.
The more interesting story of the morning, though, is the Test debut of Saransh Jain, the 33-year-old Madhya Pradesh off-spinner who came in for Kuldeep Yadav — a call-up built on more than 50 first-class matches, over 1,700 runs and more than 150 wickets.
Jain’s path to this debut wasn’t a fast-tracked one. His opportunity opened only after Washington Sundar was ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring injury, and he sealed the selection with an unbeaten 70 and six wickets for India A on a recent tour of Sri Lanka.
For anyone building a career or a company on a long runway, Jain’s story is a useful data point: a strong, unglamorous track record sustained over a decade can still convert into a major opportunity the moment the right gap opens — timing matters, but it only works if the underlying body of work is already there.
Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a century in the first Test at Galle, has continued his innings in Colombo after being dropped twice in the slips, adding to a series that has already produced multiple breakout individual performances for India’s newer players.
India carry a 1-0 series lead into this match after their 165-run win at Galle, meaning a positive result in Colombo — potentially featuring another new name in the side — would be enough to close out the series.
Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a century in the first Test at Galle, was given two reprieves through dropped catches at slip on his way to continuing his innings.
Photo by Dee03, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0