# Rain delays Day 2 after Padikkal’s unbeaten 131 for India 2026-08-16T03:41:03+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets (4 source reports) Heavy rain delayed the start of Day 2 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle. Play was scheduled to begin early to make up for overs lost on Day 1, but persistent showers kept the ground under covers. The BCCI said it would provide updates. On Day 1, Devdutt Padikkal hit an unbeaten 131 off 178 balls in his maiden Test century, steering India to 288 for 2 in their landmark 600th Test. He became the first left-handed batter since Sourav Ganguly in 2002 to score a Test hundred at number three for India. Vice-captain KL Rahul retired hurt on 77 due to cramps, while skipper Shubman Gill made 16. Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 27 alongside Padikkal, and the pair added 52 runs for the third wicket. Sri Lanka bowled inconsistently, and forecasts offered little optimism for early play on Day 2. ## Coverage - sports.ndtv.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com - sports.ndtv.com (2) - freepressjournal.in This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T05:50:41+00:00. Tags: Devdutt Padikkal, Galle International Stadium, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Sri Lanka Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/padikkal-hits-131-as-india-dominate-day-one-against-sri-lanka/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/padikkal-hits-131-as-india-dominate-day-one-against-sri-lanka/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/