India commenced their tour of Sri Lanka on an impressive note. Their bowlers put up a tidy display and bundled out Sri Lanka Board XI for a modest 224, on a rain-truncated first day of the three-day warm-up match in Colombo, on Friday.
Electing to bat, the home team never really recovered from a shaky start and could have been skittled out for a lower first innings total had it not been for a resolute 100-run fifth wicket partnership between Thilina Kandamby (84) and Chamara Silva (68).
Captain Anil Kumble (3 for 30) was the pick of the Indian bowlers while paceman Zaheer Khan (2 for 35) and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (2 for 52) chipped in with two wickets each at the Nondescripts Cricket Club.
The Indians, playing the only warm-up game before the three-match Test series gets underway on July 23, however ended the day struggling at 4 for 1, with opener Gautam Gambhir back in the pavilion.
The track at the NCC offered assistance to the bowlers and the visitors exploited the conditions reasonably well.
Lanky paceman Ishant Sharma drew first blood, getting rid of opener Mahela Udawatte (7) with wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthick taking a smart catch.
The other opener Upul Tharanga returned to the pavilion soon after, as the hosts were reduced to a precarious 20 for 2, with Zaheer, returning to international cricket after brief injury lay-off, picking his first scalp.
The home team was left gasping at 82 for 4 as captain Jehan Mubarak (25) and Chamara Kapudegera (1) fell in quick succession.
But Kandamby and Chamara Silva stemmed the rot with a crucial partnership, as they mixed caution with aggression to bail the team out of a tight spot.
Kandamby slammed 11 boundaries during his 138-ball knock while Silva hit six boundaries during his innings, which came off 108 balls.
After the two batsmen were dismissed, the tail-enders caved in quickly and the innings folded in 71.5 overs.
The Indian bowlers did a good job but the fielding was not up to the mark though it improved as the match progressed.
Harbhajan Singh, coming out of a five-match ban, took his own time to find his length and direction though he ended up with two wickets.
Though Munaf Patel got only one wicket, he found his line and length straightaway, which should hold him in good stead for the Test series. His fellow-pacer Zaheer Khan, who took two wickets, impressed from the word go and kept troubling the batsmen with his varied pace and swing bowling.
But it was left to the old war horse and skipper Kumble to polish off the Board XI's innings with his immaculate bowling with the opposition batsmen finding it difficult to negotiate him.
About 45 minutes of play was lost after lunch and a few minutes before the end of the day due to rain and bad light, but the thin crowd got its money's worth with as many as 11 wickets falling during the day.
At the fag end of the first day, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir took the field, the latter surviving an LBW decision and then skying a delivery off Dilhara Fernando over the third man for a four.
The southpaw, however, did not get past gully two balls later as he was lapped up smartly by Board XI skipper Jehan Mubarak for 4.
Sehwag remained not out without scoring as he did not face any delivery.
Dravid, who was padded up, could not take the field after Gambhir's dismissal as the umpires called off play because of bad light.
As expected, India fielded their seniors ahead of the Test match as many of them have not played for a while since they were not part of the Asia Cup.
Scorecard
Sri Lanka Board XI (1st innings):
W Tharanga lbw b Khan 6
M Udawatte c Karthik b Sharma 7
J Mubarak lbw b Harbhajan Singh 25
C Kapugedera c Karthik b Khan 1
S Kandamby c Karthik b Patel 84
L Silva c Kumble b Harbhajan Singh 68
J Silva lbw b Kumble 12
K Prasad lbw b Kumble 0
H Herath run out (Sharma/Karthik) 1
S Prasanna b Kumble 5
W de Silva not out 0
Extras: (b 6, lb 6, nb 3) 15
Total: (all out; 71.5 overs) 224 (3.11 runs per over)
Did not bat: D Fernando
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-20, 3-22, 4-82, 5-182, 6-212, 7-212, 8-214, 9-223, 10-224.
Bowling: Z Khan 12-2-35-2 (2nb), I Sharma 11-2-36-1, M Patel 12-3-49-1, S Ganguly 6-1-10-0, Harbhajan Singh 17.5-3-52-2, A Kumble 13-4-30-3 (1nb).
Indians (1st innings):
G Gambhir c Mubarak b Fernando 4
V Sehwag not out 0.
Extras: 0
Total: (for 1 wicket; 0.4 overs) 4.
To bat: S Tendulkar, R Dravid, S Ganguly, VVS Laxman, D Karthik, Z Khan, A Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, M Patel, I Sharma.
Fall of wickets: 1-4
Bowling: D Fernando 0.4-0-4-1.
