GALLE: KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal were solid as India overcame an unfortunate dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal to cruise to 101 for one at lunch on the opening day of the first against Sri Lanka here on Saturday.
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.