India arrived in Colombo with only one warm-up match before the two-Test series against Sri Lanka starting on August 15, leaving little time to settle the two biggest selection questions in their bowling attack: who partners Mohammed Siraj in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, and who shares the spin workload with Ravindra Jadeja.
At the end of the opening day of the three-day warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Club on Friday, Gurnoor Brar and Manav Suthar had strengthened their respective cases, while Prasidh Krishna struggled to make a positive impression.
Sri Lanka Cricket XI finished on 363/8 in 90 overs, with Nishan Fernando’s fluent 66 and Ravindu Rasantha’s authoritative 71 laying the platform through a commanding 110-run opening stand before captain Sonal Dinusha anchored the middle phase with a composed 52.
Although India fought back steadily through the afternoon and evening sessions, the hosts ensured the visitors had to work hard throughout the day in sultry conditions that tested every bowling option under consideration.
The strongest audition for the second seamer’s role came from Brar, who looked increasingly threatening as the ball aged. After producing the day’s biggest lbw appeal in the opening session without success, the right-armer returned with greater rhythm and purpose, exploiting bounce and angles to repeatedly discomfort the batsmen. His sustained barrage of short-pitched bowling unsettled Dinusha, who was struck on the gloves, beaten for pace and repeatedly forced onto the back foot, struggling to handle the steep bounce.
Brar eventually earned his reward by forcing Pavan Rathnayake into a miscued hook before continuing to beat the outside edge with the older ball. Even during the final session, he found late movement, extracted steep bounce and regularly drew uncertain responses from the batsmen. His figures of 1/49 in 12 overs understated the sustained pressure he created and arguably strengthened his case to partner Siraj in Galle.
Siraj extracted seam movement and awkward bounce with disciplined lengths during the morning, twice surprising Rasantha with steep lift, and later returned with a hostile spell featuring sharp bouncers that repeatedly hurried the lower order. Although boundaries occasionally came off shorter deliveries, he probed away across all three sessions, repeatedly asking questions that deserved greater reward than the scorebook ultimately showed.
Prasidh, by contrast, endured a mixed day that is unlikely to strengthen his claim. He struggled for consistency in his opening spell, offering scoring opportunities with overpitched deliveries and width before tightening his lengths after lunch. There were occasional deliveries that jagged back into the right-handers, but he lacked sustained penetration and rarely looked capable of breaking partnerships, particularly compared to Siraj and Brar. On a surface that rewarded patience, Prasidh never quite settled into the disciplined rhythm India would have wanted.
Spinner slots
The contest for the second spinner’s berth – in case India plays three fast bowlers – also tilted firmly in Suthar’s favour. Given a longer spell in the morning session than Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm spinner showcased the attributes that have impressed selectors. He generated drift, overspin and bounce, repeatedly luring batsmen forward before dismissing the well-set Rasantha with a teasingly flighted delivery that induced a miscued lofted drive.
Reintroduced only in the 88th over after not bowling since the 54th, Suthar immediately struck again, trapping Dinusha lbw with one that kept low, finishing with impressive figures of 13-1-33-2.
Kuldeep’s moments
Kuldeep enjoyed moments of promise but lacked Suthar’s control across a long spell. The wrist-spinner consistently mixed his pace, produced sharp turn and repeatedly deceived batsmen with the wrong’un, collecting two wickets after tea, including Ahan Wickramasinghe off a top-edged sweep and Anjala Bandara lbw.
However, he also released too many boundary balls whenever he erred in length, allowing the batsmen to sweep and drive with confidence. His figures of 18-0-76-2 reflected both his wicket-taking ability and his inconsistency.
Jadeja quietly underlined why he remains India’s first-choice spinner. He maintained relentless accuracy, extracting drift and occasional turn while creating pressure with dot balls before removing Pasindu Sooriyabandara and later inducing Ramesh Mendis into edging to slip. He finished with 14-2-64-2, complementing Suthar effectively as India’s spinners gradually assumed control once the ball softened.
With two days remaining, there is still time for the challengers to alter the pecking order. But after the opening day’s evidence, Brar and Suthar have taken an early lead in the race for the remaining bowling spots.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka Cricket XI 363/8 in 90 overs (Ravindu Rasantha 71, Nishan Fernando 66, Sonal Dinusha 52; Manav Suthar 2/33, Ravindra Jadeja 2/64, Kuldeep Yadav 2/76, Gurnoor Brar 1/49) vs India.