Surrounded by expansive trees and skyscrapers, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground was like a sauna on Friday (August 21, 2026). A maximum of 30 degrees Celsius belied the actual heat felt on the premises, and in this cauldron, the Indian team practised as part of the build-up towards the second Test commencing on Sunday (August 23).

K.L. Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav skipped the pre-game drills, and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule clarified that the duo were resting. The others did their batting and bowling stints while coach Gautam Gambhir and chief-selector Ajit Agarkar watched. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill constituted the first quartet that batted.

Gill freed his arms and unleashed big shots while the warning ‘watch out’ rang aloud through the ground. Later, the skipper had a chat with Gambhir while Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan and others batted. Off-spinner Saransh Jain turned his arm over and it remains to be seen if he will come into contention against a left-hander heavy Sri Lankan batting.

Bowling coach Morne Morkel, always busy at nets, ran in and bowled too. He had mentioned about coping with the heat in Galle, guess the same challenge awaits his wards in the Sri Lankan capital.

Published - August 21, 2026 03:32 pm IST