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.