Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test, India tour of Sri Lanka 2026 - CommentarySL vs IND, 1st Test, India tour of Sri Lanka 2026 - Commentary

Manav Suthar: [Does life feel good after this journey?] It feels really good. Playing Test cricket is a dream for every cricketer. And the way I started this match, getting a wicket off the first ball and finding a good rhythm, I just tried to continue that by bowling in good areas. [How do you prepare before every match?] I just do spot bowling before the match, usually a day or two before, as much as possible to get into rhythm. That's the practice I follow. [On Jadeja and Kuldeep] Jadeja bhai and Kuldeep bhai are very senior and legendary bowlers. I get to learn a lot just by watching them. I try to learn as much as I can from them every day. [On the surface] The wicket was playing well. Even when we were bowling in the second innings, we were getting only a little turn. Maybe tomorrow there will be more turn. Let's see. [What are your plans for tomorrow?] The idea is to get a good start. We will try to find our lengths as quickly as possible and then, depending on the wicket, decide what lengths we need to bowl tomorrow morning. So the plan will be to adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible.

Prasidh pitched 68.75% of his deliveries (33) in the short length zone - hard length (8-10m) or bouncer (10m). He returned 1/8 with those at an ER of 1.45.

This was the seventh instance of Devdutt Padikkal bowling in first-class cricket. He bowled nine overs (0/34) across his six previous outings with the ball.

18:08 Local Time, 12:38 GMT, 18:08 IST: The umpires take another reading and light has faded enough for them to call it a day. That's stumps on Day 4 with India firmly in control of the Test. The visitors started the day with quick runs in their mind and that's exactly how they proceeded for most part of the innings. Only three batters reached double figures. KL Rahul (35) and Devdutt Padikkal (44) added 65 for the second wicket, but Rishabh Pant's breezy 66 really set them up. Sri Lanka bowled well for most of the innings, consistently attacking and chipping away to keep India to 191 in their second innings. But the overall lead was 371 and no team has chased that many runs in the 4th innings here at Galle. Nishan Fernando fell cheaply once again in the second innings. Concussion substitute Pasindu Sooriyabandara bagged a first-ball duck on debut, Kamindu chased one and edged Prasidh to slip while Lahiru Udara was probably a tad unlucky as he edged Suthar to gully. Dhananjaya de Silva was reprieved on 7 after being caught off a no-ball and he has hung on gamely. Sonal Dinusha has looked positive, but it's a still a long way to go for the hosts. As things stand, India need 6 wickets to go 1-0 up while the home team needs another 288 runs. That sets up a thrilling finish to this Test at Galle. Don't forget about rain; that could also play a role. But we'll be back at 9:45 am for the first ball on Day 5. For now, cheers and bye..

The two umpires converge and have a chat. Ahsan Raza is now taking a reading even as Devdutt Padikkal marks his run-up to bowl some off-breaks

The 4th umpire runs out with the lightmeter and hands it out to Ahsan Raza. It must be good enough because the umpire doesn't take a reading, just keeps it in his pocket