Mohammed Siraj slammed back to back three sixes to help India defeat Sri Lanka XI by 6 wickets in the 3-day practice match on Sunday. With 23 runs needed in the last 2 overs, the match was looking to end as a draw but Siraj had other ideas.
He started with a six off Sonal Dinusha in the 44th over before unleashing carnage on Keshara Nuwantha in the 45th and last over of the day, slogging him three sixes to different parts of the ground. The India pacer finished with 32 runs off 15 deliveries.
Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 61 before the opener was retired hurt. Captain Shubman Gill finally took the field for India’s second innings, scoring an assured 44 while Siraj and Saransh Jain finished the chase off.
Earlier, Sri Lanka XI had declared their innings after scoring 200 with Nishan Madushka and Nipun Dhananjaya scoring 63 and 46 respectively. Gurnoor Brar and Ravindra Jadeja took 2 scalps apiece. This was after India declared their first innings at 357/6 with Devdutt Padikkal slamming 142 and Jadeja chipping in with 63.
On Day 2, Padikkal assured his spot in India’s playing eleven for the opening Test with a stylish century while seasoned Pant and his understudy Dhruv Jurel failed to make the most of favourable batting conditions.
At the end of the second day, India finished its first innings at 357 for eight in 90 overs. Padikkal’s artistic unbeaten 142 and a gritty 63 (retired out) by veteran Ravindra Jadeja were the highlights, while Manav Suthar (41) also impressed with the bat on his maiden overseas international assignment.
The pitch had become much easier to bat on, and Padikkal took full advantage, hitting 18 delectable boundaries to show that he is ready to reclaim his rightful place now that first-choice No. 3 batter Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the series after failing to recover in time from his big-toe injury.
With Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) falling off the second delivery of the day while attempting to flash at left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando (1/42), KL Rahul (40) and Padikkal added 96 for the second wicket.
While Rahul played himself in, the sinewy Padikkal was a treat to watch, opening with a couple of cover drives off fuller deliveries before unleashing some delectable cuts both in front of and behind point. He was particularly severe on right arm pacer Ishitha Wijesundara who was hit for multiple boundaries. Anything short from pacers or spinners was pulled with a lot of disdain. The famous ‘Nataraja Shot’ also came out of the closet against the pacers.
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