In a scary incident on Saturday in Galle, Nishan Madushka had to leave the field at the Galle International Stadium on the first day of the first Test after the Sri Lankan was hit hard on the helmet by a KL Rahul sweep.
The incident took place on the final delivery of a Prabath Jayasuriya over.
The Indian opener went down on one knee and played a well-timed shot. Madushka, who was positioned at short leg, was directly on the path of the shot and lowered his head to get away from being hit. However, the elevation of the shot wasn’t enough to save Madushka.
The shot hit Madushka on the centre of his helmet and the ball went towards fine leg post that. Initially reluctant to take the single, Rahul had no other option but to complete the run after seeing Yashasvi Jaiswal already crossed the halfway mark.
Soon after the run was completed, Rahul rushed to check on Madushka. The Sri Lankan opening batter was immediately checked by the team physio and concussion checks were carried out. He was taken off the field for further treatment. However, no update has come from Sri Lanka Cricket in regards to Madushka.
KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal look solid in Galle
Meanwhile, Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal were solid as India overcame an unfortunate dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal to cruise to 101/1 at lunch. Rahul (32) and Devdutt (35) were at the crease when the lunch was taken. The second wicket pair has so far added 54 runs in 16 overs.
However, the break could have been even sweeter for the tourists if there was no mix-up between Jaiswal, who lost balance after a collision with the bowler, and Rahul.
The horrible yes-no situation between them saw both the batters ending up at non-striker’s end with Jaiswal, who looked good during his 37-ball 32, eventually had to walk off.
But that temporary set back did not affect India’s scoring rate as they motored around four an over. Rahul was a bit edgy to begin with, particularly against pacer Lahiru Kumara.
There was a play and miss and an edge that died in front of the gully fielder, but a pull off the same bowler for a boundary indicated his growing confidence. The introduction of seasoned left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was meant to add a modicum of control to the proceedings.
But the Indian batters did not allow Sri Lanka’s primary weapon to settle into early rhythm. Devdutt, who looked in fine fettle, smacked him for a six, a little shimmy and a clean hit sending the ball soaring over long-on.
Rahul soon followed as the left-arm spinner was creamed straight over his head for another maximum, and the Bengaluru batter also followed it up with a boundary in the same direction.
Jayasuriya, debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha and spinner Dhananjaya de Silva did find some bounce and turn on occasions, but were too slow to trouble the Indian batters.
India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test playing XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando