Sudharsan celebrating his century.(PC: SLC) India Test batter Sai Sudharsan notched up a brilliant hundred against Sri Lanka A on the opening day of the first unofficial Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday, June 25. Playing his first red-ball match on Sri Lankan soil, Sudharsan made an instant mark. The left-handed batter, who batted at number three in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, scored 132 while opening the batting for India A.

The hallmark of his innings was that he remained proactive, finding the boundary rope at regular intervals. Last year, Sudharsan came under scrutiny for his strike rate in the home Test series against South Africa. However in Galle, the Tamil Nadu batter reached the three-figure mark off just 130 balls.

Right from the start, he looked authoritative. He forged an 82-run opening stand with Ayush Pandey (25). In the second session, he completed his ninth first-class hundred.

The bulk of the bowling was done by the Sri Lanka A spinners, and Sudharsan scored most of his runs against the slower bowlers. Pacer Chamika Gunasekara brought an end to his innings in the 53rd over. Devdutt Padikkal, who batted at number three, missed out on a big score as he was dismissed for just 12 runs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad looked good for his 22 but could not carry on. India A captain Dhruv Jurel (68) and Shaik Rasheed (53) remained unbeaten as India closed day one at 333/4. Runs from Sudharsan and Jurel are a positive sign for the Indian team, as both are in contention to play the Test series against Sri Lanka, which is expected to start in August.

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