Colombo, Aug 23: Skipper Shubman Gill and Devdutt Padikkal made assured 50 and 63 not out respectively as India moved to a strong 187 for three at tea on the opening day of the second Test here on Sunday.
Gill, who was dismissed at the stroke of tea, and Padikkal added 120 runs for the third wicket alliance as India recovered well from the first session departure of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Rishabh Pant (0 not out) joined Padikkal a few minutes before tea was taken.
Padikkal was a bit unsteady to begin with, and even got a reprieve when was on 1.
Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva grassed a rather easy chance off spinner Keshara Nuwantha at backward point and Padikkal was in no mood to look in the mouth of a gift horse.
The left-hander, who made a 167 in the first Test, displayed splendid touch after that early fumble, dispatching Sri Lankan bowlers around the park.
A scorching pull off pacer Lahiru Kumara that also fetched him his fifty in 90 balls was one of the standout shots in his innings.
Gill, on the other hand, was equally solid and a short-arm pull off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya that raced to the fence was a treat to watch, until the right-hander lost his focus to edge Asitha Fernando to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.
Earlier, India were put under some early pressure as Sri Lanka jettisoned Rahul and Jaiswal in the first session.
After opting to bat, India started solidly through Rahul (18) and Jaiswal (45), who added a trouble-free 37 runs for the first wicket.
Jaiswal was particularly impressive as he eschewed the cut shot, which has led to his peril often in the past, to a good extent.
The left-hander smashed Kumara for two boundaries in succession, before executing a wonderful cover drive off Jayasuriya.
Rahul was as restrained as ever but showed a glimpse of his shot-making ability, lifting Jayasuriya for a six straight over the head of the bowler.
But the trouble came without any warning. Rahul went for a square cut off Kumara, but the laden feet shot only produced an edge to Dickwella.
Jaiswal looked primed for a bigger score but soon fell to Fernando.
The pacer produced a peach of a nip-backer to breach the Indian’s defence and a little drama followed that dismissal.
Fernando gave Jaiswal, who had sledged Dickwella in the second innings of the first Test at Galle, a send-off and the Indian opener turned back to have a few words with Lankan with his helmet touching the forehead of the pacer.
But the situation was soon defused by Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva. (PTI)
