It is not every day that an Indian spinner gets a chance to bowl ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the sub-continent. And so, as Manav Suthar marked his run-up to come in first change ahead of the veteran on Monday, he was expected to back up the work done by the pacers.

It turned out to be a dream start for the 24-year-old, who dismissed Dinesh Chandimal with his first ball with a delivery that spun, took the outside edge and nestled in Rishabh Pant’s gloves.

The dismissal would set the tone for the rest of the day as the left-arm spinner finished with 4/76 in 21.4 overs to help India bowl Sri Lanka out for 284 and take a 178 run-lead with two days left.

Yet, despite bowling ahead of Jadeja, Suthar wishes he could be as consistent as his experienced teammate and land the ball in one area all the time.

“He can land a ball on one spot. His consistency is world-class. So I want to learn from him that no matter what a batsman does, how long can you bowl on a spot and induce a false shot. There’s a lot to learn,” Suthar told reporters on Monday.

Despite bowling ahead of Jadeja, Suthar wishes he could be as consistent as his experienced teammate and land the ball in one area all the time

He reflected on his first-ball wicket, saying it gave a bowler a lot of confidence when he began with a wicket so early in his spell.

“It’s a very good feeling to get a wicket with the first ball. It gives you a lot of confidence throughout the game,” he said.

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Suthar made his Test debut against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh in June and revealed that he was practising bowling with the Kookaburra ball ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.

“My plan was pretty simple – to bowl in a good area, right length and right speed. Here we got a lot of purchase from the wicket,” he added.

Suthar also had a chance to play county cricket with Warwickshire before the Sri Lanka tour and admitted that it was a different experience bowling in English conditions.

“It’s a very good experience. When I went to England and played county cricket, the wickets were different. The batsmen’s plans were different. You have to develop your game according to the conditions. You get to learn a lot,” he said.