IND vs SL: Shubman Gill departs cheaply as India lead by 294 at lunch
India and Sri Lanka: At 6.33 am GMT (12.03 pm IST) on Day 4 of the first Test, Shubman Gill had departed cheaply, and India went into the lunch interval with a 294-run lead.
The opening session finished with Sri Lanka regaining momentum in its latter stages after India had built a substantial advantage; Dhruv Jurel was batting in at number six for India and faced overs from Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha and others. The on-air commentary also reported that Dinesh Chandimal had been taken to hospital for scans.
Early in the session there was a stifled appeal against Dhruv Jurel for a caught behind from Prabath Jayasuriya that was turned down, with the broadcasters noting no real conviction in the appeal and a likely sound caused by the bat clipping the front pad. Jurel then picked up a boundary off Keshara Nuwantha, rocketing a short ball through mid-wicket after climbing on to the length.
Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed LBW to Keshara Nuwantha after a delivery from around the wicket struck his back pad; umpire Ahsan Raza raised the finger and Padikkal reviewed, but ball tracking showed it hitting middle and leg stump. The report noted Padikkal as the centurion from the first innings, and India lost their fourth wicket with a lead of 289 runs.
Rishabh Pant played an attacking spell against the pacemen, including a six off Lahiru Kumara struck over wide long-off and a successful reverse-sweep boundary off Keshara Nuwantha that—according to the live text—took India past 100 and put the lead at 280. Pant also survived a skiddy delivery that popped off the shoulder of the blade and ran additional singles as the session progressed.
Keshara Nuwantha and Dhananjaya de Silva tested the Indian batsmen with a mix of short and flighted deliveries; Padikkal earlier had worked a sweep through deep square leg and punched a drive towards a straightish short cover. Dhananjaya de Silva replaced Prabath Jayasuriya in the attack during the session and bowled a range of slower and fuller deliveries that produced runs and rotated the strike.
There were repeated LBW and caught-behind appeals against Jurel during the session, including one prolonged LBW shout that the umpire rejected and which Dhananjaya de Silva elected not to review after checking with the keeper; the ball-tracking suggested the impact was outside the line. With a single from a flighted delivery, the live blog recorded India's lead moving to 270 at one point.
The post-lunch session was scheduled to begin at 7.13 am GMT (12.43 pm IST).