Indian cricket team reached Sri Lanka on Wednesday and played their first warm-up match of the tour on Friday against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI (SLBP XI). India are off to a great start as Indian bowlers led by Kuldeep Yadav destroyed Sri Lanka’s batting line-up and dismissed them for just 187.
Kuldeep Yadav, who is regarded as one of the best chinaman spinners in the world, bowled brilliantly on a pitch that had assistance for spinners and troubled the Lankan batters who couldn’t pick him. Yadav picked 4 wickets for just 14 runs and outfoxed the batters with his mystery spin.
India’s left-arm orthodox sinner Ravindra Jadeja also bowled well and picked 3 crucial wickets for just 31 runs. Both, Jadeja and Kuldeep, bowled well in tandem and displayed tow different styles of left-arm spin.
In the batting department, Abhinav Mukund was dismissed in the first over of the Indian innings without troubling the scorers. Bangalore’s swashbuckling batsman KL Rahul, who is making a comeback to international cricket after undergoing a surgery, got much needed batting practice in the middle. He scored 54 runs.
Indian captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 34 and 30 respectively when the day came to an end.
Brief scores: India 135/3 (KL Rahul 54, Virat Kohli 34*, Vishwa Fernando 2/21) trail SLBP XI 187 (Danushka Gunathilaka 74, Kuldeep Yadav 4/14, Ravindra Jadeja 3/31) by 52 runs.
