Day One at Galle belonged to India. While it was Devdutt Padikkal’s unbeaten maiden century that stood at the forefront of India’s domination, after they elected to bat first on a pitch expected to wear down and bring spinners more into play as the game progresses, more than the total of 288 for 2 they ended on, what would give India more comfort is the approach their batsmen took. Against spinners, a tribe that has caused them all sorts of problems over the last two years, they showed they can find a way to dominate.

Coming into the Test against a Sri Lanka side depleted in batting, the only real challenge for India was how their own batsmen would handle the questions posed by the hosts’ spinners. In Prabath Jayasuriya, they faced a left-arm spinner relentless in the questions he asks. On a day he sent down 24 overs, he had just one wicket to show for it, that of captain Shubman Gill, who again showed the willingness to use his feet and come down the track, but was undone by Jayasuriya’s change of pace and dip, which left him nowhere close to the pitch of the ball. That dismissal was the only one Sri Lanka’s attack could manage after Yashasvi Jaiswal was run out in the first hour, in a mix-up with KL Rahul. Rahul went on to anchor a composed, unbeaten 77 before retiring hurt. Until that run-out, it was Jaiswal who had given India a steady start, the pair scoring at over four runs an over in the first hour.

Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a steady start. (BCCI/Creimas Photo)

That dismissal had the potential to trigger a slide. It came at the exact moment Dhananjaya de Silva turned to his spinners to call the shots. Jayasuriya against a new, inexperienced batsman fighting for his spot, alongside a tentative Rahul, made for a riveting contest. But this Sri Lanka attack has one major hole. Alongside Jayasuriya’s unerring accuracy, they had only debutant offspinner Keshara Nuwantha, whom Padikkal had already seen plenty of during last week’s warm-up fixture, where he scored an unbeaten 142, and Sonal Dinusha, with just three caps to his name. The situation demanded India be proactive. It isn’t beyond them, but they have seldom shown it when spinners have had their noses in front in the past.

AS IT HAPPENED | India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Day 1

Even here, Jayasuriya was in no mood to make it easy. While Padikkal straightaway got down to rotating strike, using his footwork well, it was Rahul who faced the testing spell. Ahead of the series, he had practised on wet and dry pitches in Mumbai, where the ball turns square, working on his back-foot game. Here, Jayasuriya gave him little of that space. Instead, varying his pace, he kept his line at the stumps, but it was the length that made Rahul retreat into a shell. He could neither commit fully forward nor go back and defend the way Padikkal did. Instead, ball after ball, he had to half-press and play with soft hands, with close-in fielders crowding around him. To his credit, Rahul sensed the threat and even jumped down the track to loft Jayasuriya down the ground, but that was a rare instance. With deliveries on the fuller length, there was the option of the sweep, but it isn’t a shot that comes naturally to him. So to get the job done, he suffered. That he ended up with cramps in his arms said everything about the work behind all that dead-batting.

Devdutt Padikkal and Rishabh Pant walk off at Stumps on Day 1 of the 1st Test match between India and Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium (BCCI/Creimas Photo)

As Rahul battled, Padikkal endured none of it. If anything, his innings was free-flowing. A century arriving off 134 deliveries showed the gap between the two: he did everything Rahul couldn’t, or didn’t get to. Unlike Rahul, he was bold with his feet, particularly playing off the back foot. Trusting the bounce on the red-soil track, he whipped, cut and pulled whenever the chance came. If there was flight on the ball, he came down the track, and even then didn’t reach for the aerial shot, a defensive push was often enough to force the spinners to alter their lengths. When he did, both Karnataka batsmen found runs, their stand of 150 putting India steadily in control. Once Rahul couldn’t continue batting at the start of the third session, delayed by a two-hour rain break that pushed the post-lunch phase back to 2 pm, Sri Lanka sensed an opportunity.

But Gill arrived and played a breezy innings before Jayasuriya had him out too, bringing Rishabh Pant to the middle. Pant, true to his usual approach, added some quick runs that deflated Sri Lanka further, as India set their sights on batting big at Galle.