India opener KL Rahul got an early reprieve, courtesy Devdutt Padikkal who convinced him to review the lbw decision. In the 11th over of Day 4's play, Prabath Jayasuriya trapped Rahul in front of the stumps. The batter lunged forward to defend but the ball beat the bat and he was hit on the pad. The umpire raised his finger almost instantly and the opener was ready to walk away when Padikkal stopped him. In hope of a miracle, Rahul stayed and took the risk which paid off. As the ball was missing the stumps, Rahul hugged his batting partner and blew a kiss.
The bounce saved Rahul from losing his wicket. He was batting on 25 then. But, the opener could not make the most of the second chance. After the drinks break, Jayasuriya managed to dismiss Rahul. The spinner lured Rahul into a big shot but he miscued it. The bat twisted in his hands and he was caught by substitute fielder Milan Rathnayake at mid-off. He departed after scoring 35 runs from 47 balls, featuring a couple of fours and sixes each.
Rahul, Padikkal’s partnership enters record books
Before getting dismissed, he shared a 65-run partnership for the second wicket with Padikkal. They became the fourth Indian pair to share 50-plus stands in both innings of a Test for India on Sri Lankan soil. The first to do it were Sadagopan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das in Colombo in 2001. On 2008 tour, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir did it in Galle and Colombo. Two years later, VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina did it in Colombo.
Rahul crosses 100 runs in Galle
In the first innings, Rahul had scored 82 runs from 175 balls. He had shared a crucial partnership with Padikkal then as well. He scored 117 runs in the Test series opener.
In the second innings, Padikkal did not have to wait for long. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was run out in the first innings after a terrible mix-up with his opening partner, departed for a three-ball duck to Asitha Fernando.