Monsoon rain stopped play before it could begin on day two of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India at the Galle International Stadium on Sunday, washing out the entire morning session and leaving the afternoon start in doubt.
That delay mattered because India had finished day one in command at 288-2 after 73 overs, with Devdutt Padikkal unbeaten on 131 for his maiden Test hundred and Rishabh Pant not out on 27. India had chosen to bat after winning the toss, and the Test was being played at Galle in the 50th match staged there.
The weather interruption also cut into a match that was already built around slow bowling. Both sides had named spin-heavy attacks, a choice that fit Galle’s conditions and the first-Test setting, but it also meant every lost over could matter more than it would in a quicker-scoring contest. Instead of settling into two planned sessions of about 90 minutes each with a 20-minute tea break between them, Sri Lanka and India spent the opening stretch of Sunday waiting for the rain to clear.
If the rain holds off, 43 overs are scheduled for the day, but the immediate question is not the total. It is whether enough of Sunday remains to give India a chance to extend a position built on Padikkal’s hundred and to let Sri Lanka finally get a look at a pitch it has not yet been able to use.
