Now Reading: Padikkal scores 142, India declare at 357/6 in warm-up match
-
01
Padikkal scores 142, India declare at 357/6 in warm-up match
India declared at 357/6 on Day 3 of the three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the NCC Ground in Colombo. Devdutt Padikkal scored an unbeaten 142, sharing a crucial…
The Story in Brief
India declared at 357/6 on Day 3 of the three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the NCC Ground in Colombo. Devdutt Padikkal scored an unbeaten 142, sharing a crucial 72-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (63 retired hurt). Gurnoor Brar contributed a quick 36 off 18 balls with four sixes. India finished with a six-run deficit to Sri Lanka's first-innings total.
Sri Lanka Cricket XI started their second innings at 26/2, with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj taking a wicket each. Siraj trapped Ravindu Rasantha lbw for 8, while Krishna bowled Pasindu Sooriyandara for 4. Auqib Nabi, Jasprit Bumrah's injury replacement, has not bowled in the match yet. Shubman Gill missed his second consecutive day with a finger injury but was seen in the dressing room without heavy strapping.
The Indian Opinion
Headlines are focusing on the Padikkal century and India's declaration, but the subplots are being rushed over. The exaggerated 'return to form' tales ignore that this is a second-string Sri Lanka attack. The missing names, Gill's fitness, Nabi's non-bowling, Pant's low scores, are the real stories. The real test isn't Padikkal's runs here, but who gets dropped when the first XI returns. Watch the selection call for the first Test: it will settle which narratives were noise.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, sportstar.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
