India 300/5 on Day 1 in Colombo, former players say Gautam Gambhir may not be satisfied

India finished Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday, August 23, on 300/5, but former India cricketers Ajay Jadeja and Sanjay Manjrekar believe head coach Gautam Gambhir will not be entirely pleased with the way his batters went about their business.

India elected to bat first and were once again rescued by Devdutt Padikkal, who continued his sensational run in the series and showed patience to bring up another century; there was little sustained support from the other batters. "I think India would probably not be happy about this. Gambhir will be Gambhir and that is because of the standards that they have set for themselves. Every batsman who came in, got a start, but only Padikkal was able to raise his bat (after hitting hundred). Sri Lanka probably walked off happier after that," Jadeja said on the broadcast at the end of the day's play.

Manjrekar argued India should have pushed for a far larger total given the pitch and their batting resources. "When you looked at the pitch and the batting depth that India had, I felt that India should probably reach somewhere around 500. Anything under that you would think that India did not make use of the conditions here. Jaiswal got out on 45, Gill got a start, if these guys get going, then you start looking at massive scores. I think that India will be slightly disappointed," Manjrekar said.

Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal became a focal point after he was sent back for 40 by Asitha Fernando in the 17th over and then engaged in a heated exchange with the Sri Lankan fast bowler. Jaiswal lost his cool and head-butted Fernando before being pulled away by Sri Lankan players.

The final over before stumps underscored India's frustrations when Asitha Fernando extracted a sharp delivery from around the wicket to bowl Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja initially looked to leave the ball, only to realise too late that it was coming back towards his stumps, and the ball crashed into the woodwork.

Padikkal remained unbeaten on his century as wickets fell at the other end, and India were 300/5 at stumps with Dhruv Jurel and Saransh Jain at the crease. Rishabh Pant was still to come after being forced to retire out earlier in the day; he was hit on the leg by a Lahiru Kumara bouncer after facing 15 balls, received treatment in the dugout and the Indian team management later confirmed that he was fit to bat.

With Pant still to come and the tail to follow, India will hope to turn a promising position into the kind of first-innings total that Jadeja and Manjrekar believe they should have been targeting from the outset.