GALLE, SRI LANKA – The opening Test match between India and Sri Lanka took a lopsided turn on the third morning Monday, as India’s spin-focused bowling attack ripped through Sri Lanka’s top order, leaving the home side teetering at 99 for five wickets in its first innings by the lunch break. Left-arm spinning rookie Manav Suthar emerged as the early standout, claiming two key wickets for just 17 runs to put India in full control of the opening fixture of the series.
The day got off to a quick start for India’s batting, which had resumed the morning at 460 for nine wickets. It took just four deliveries to wrap up the innings: pace bowler Prasidh Krishna fell caught out, leaving India with a solid first-innings total of 462. The visitors’ massive total was built on a breakthrough century from 20-something batsman Devdutt Padikkal, who notched his maiden Test hundred with a 167-run knock across the first two days of play. Padikkal’s standout performance was supported by useful contributions from Lokesh Rahul, who hit 82, and wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel, who added an unbeaten 51 to pad India’s lead.
India’s bowlers picked up right where their batsmen left off, applying unrelenting pressure from the first over of Sri Lanka’s innings. Pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj got the hosts off to a disastrous start, removing opening batsman Nishan Fernando for a two-ball duck after a sharp catch at slip. Suthar, making an immediate impact in his first bowling spell, claimed a wicket with his very first delivery in the innings: former Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal edged a catch behind the wicket for just four runs, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 13 for two inside four overs.
A 26-run third-wicket partnership between Kamindu Mendis and Lahiru Udara briefly steadied the Sri Lankan innings, but the resistance was broken by Suthar once again. An extra bouncer from the spinner found Udara caught at point for 27, ending the stand. Just three overs later, Kuldeep Yadav, India’s other leading left-arm spinner, added another wicket to the tally, after a spectacular one-handed diving catch from Shubman Gill at cover sent Mendis packing for 14. The wicket left Sri Lanka stuck at 59 for four after just 16.1 overs, with the entire top order back in the pavilion without a single batsman passing the 30-run mark.
Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva put together a 31-run fifth-wicket stand with batsman Sonal Dinusha to slow India’s momentum, but the partnership was broken just before the lunch interval when Ravindra Jadeja claimed de Silva’s wicket for 21 off 41 balls. By the break, Dinusha remained unbeaten on 14, with wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella yet to score past eight, leaving the home side 363 runs behind India’s first innings total with five wickets already down. Kuldeep Yadav finished the session with one wicket for 25 runs, while Jadeja claimed one wicket for just six runs as India’s spin trio dominated the entire morning session.