Devdutt Padikkal saved his best for Test cricket’s biggest stage.
The India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live Day 1 belonged to one man and one innings. Padikkal — No. 3, warm-up hero, the batter who made his case with 142 not out against Sri Lanka XI and carried it forward into the actual Test — scored 131 not out off 178 balls and was still there at stumps when India closed on 288 for 2 after 73 overs. Cricinfo’s end-of-day verdict was direct: “No prizes for guessing who dominated. This day belongs to Padikkal.” The today’s Test scorecard shows everything else that happened around him — Jaiswal’s brisk 32 before an unfortunate run-out ended his stay, KL Rahul’s composed 77 before cramps forced him to retire hurt after tea, Gill’s 16 before Prabath Jayasuriya claimed the only wicket among Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Pant’s unbeaten 27 alongside Padikkal at stumps. But the the Galle contest story is the Padikkal story. His maiden Test century. His unbeaten 131 on a day India won the toss, chose to bat and produced one of their best away Test batting days in the current WTC cycle. The this Test match pitch gave Sri Lanka’s spinners something to work with from the afternoon session — Keshara Nuwantha’s left-arm spin caused trouble without reward, his figures reading 0 for 98 at stumps — but Padikkal’s footwork, his ability to use his feet against both pace and spin and his specific calm under the pressure of a maiden Test hundred chase made the pitch largely irrelevant for long periods of the day. India go into Day 2 of the the Galle Test Day 1 with Padikkal and Pant unbeaten, a first-innings total building toward something significant and the platform the WTC 5th-placed team needed from their first day of the most important Test they play in 2026.
Scorecard — Day 1 Close
India 1st Innings — 288/2 (73 overs) — Day 1 Close
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | Dismissed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 32 | — | — | — | Run Out |
| KL Rahul | 77 | — | — | — | Retired Hurt (cramps) |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 131* | 178 | — | — | Unbeaten |
| Shubman Gill (c) | 16 | 28 | — | — | b Prabath Jayasuriya |
| Rishabh Pant (wk) | 27* | — | — | — | Unbeaten |
| TOTAL | 288/2 | (73 ov) |
Fall of wickets:
- 47-1 (Jaiswal, 11.0 ov) — run out
- 236-2 (Gill, 61.5 ov) — b Prabath
Sri Lanka bowling:
- Prabath Jayasuriya: 1 wicket
- Keshara Nuwantha: 0/98
Match flow (Day 1):
- Drinks: India 47/1 in 11.0 overs (Rahul 14)
- India 50 in 12.1 overs
- India 100 in 25.4 overs
- India 236/2 in 61.5 overs (Gill out)
- Day 1 close: 288/2 in 73 overs
Day 2 Live Update
India continued batting into Day 2. The score progressed from 288/2 to 307/3 and then 353/4 across the two sessions with Dhruv Jurel at the crease and Nuwantha continuing to bowl.
Day 2 current: India 353/4 in 90+ overs — Jurel batting — India building toward a strong first-innings total that the Galle surface will make increasingly difficult to chase.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Toss Report
Shubman Gill won the toss at Galle International Cricket Stadium on the morning of August 15, 2026 and chose to bat.
The decision was the right one. The Galle pitch in its first morning session offers pace movement in humid conditions around the fort wall — the seam bowlers get something early before the surface dries and the spinners take over. By choosing to bat first, India accessed those first-morning batting conditions without facing them. By stumps on Day 1, India had 288 for 2 on the board.
The toss call defines series at Galle more than almost any other venue in cricket. Gill called it correctly. India batted correctly. And Padikkal turned the correct decisions into a match-winning opportunity.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Jaiswal Run-Out
Yashasvi Jaiswal is not an opener who makes thirties and gets out to bad balls. He makes thirties and gets out to bad luck, bad calls or bad bounces — and the Galle wicket that ended his day was a run-out that falls into the third category.
His 32 runs — hit with the specific intent and aggression that has made him one of India’s most exciting Test openers in the current WTC cycle — gave India a platform in the opening eleven overs. The drinks break at 47 for 1 had India slightly behind par for a day on which they would eventually score at 3.94 per over — but the run-out came before the innings had settled and the 47 for 1 position after eleven overs could have been better.
Jaiswal’s form and intent were correct. The run-out was simply cricket. His dismissal brought Padikkal to the crease with Rahul still in — and the partnership that followed set the tone for everything else on Day 1.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Rahul 77 Story
KL Rahul has been India’s most consistent opener in the WTC 2025-27 cycle — 796 WTC runs at 49.75 before this match. His 77 at Galle on Day 1 extended that consistency before the cramps took him off the field after tea.
The specific detail: he retired hurt, not dismissed. Retired hurt means he can come back to bat if wickets fall and the team requires his return — his 77 is not the end of his innings unless India declare or are bowled out. The cramps arrived after tea in the specific Galle humidity that afternoon sessions in August produce. Playing on a day that began at 4:30 AM IST meant long hours of cricket in conditions that Galle’s coastal humidity makes physically demanding.
His 77 was the anchor innings that gave Padikkal the platform to express himself. Rahul absorbed the early testing overs, gave Padikkal the strike in favourable conditions and batted until the body would not allow more. The WTC runs continue to accumulate. His contribution to the first innings continues even from the dressing room.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Padikkal 131* Complete Story
Every innings that defines a Test debut is specific — the specific pitch, the specific bowling attack, the specific match situation that the innings addresses. Padikkal’s 131 not out at Galle addressed a specific Test debut situation: a Jaiswal run-out in the 11th over, Rahul eventually retiring hurt, Gill falling for 16, and Padikkal — who had come in early, batted through every phase of the day and not lost his wicket — finishing the day on 131 not out off 178 balls.
178 balls. Six sessions of pressure. The Galle pitch turning increasingly from the afternoon. Prabath Jayasuriya — the best left-arm orthodox spinner in Asia across the last two years — bowling with a surface that assisted him. Keshara Nuwantha’s left-arm spin generating enough turn to be dangerous without reward. Padikkal handled all of it.
The specific technical quality: his footwork against spin. He used his feet — getting to the pitch of the ball and driving through the off side when the length invited it. Against Prabath’s left-arm angle coming into his pads from around the wicket, he padded away the deliveries that would have hit leg stump and drove the ones that offered width. The technique is not the aggressive foot-movement that Jaiswal brings or the power that Pant generates. It is something more patient — more in the Padikkal style that the warm-up 142 had already shown and that the Test match confirmed at the highest level.
Maiden Test hundred. At Galle. On Day 1 of his Test debut match. At No. 3 for India.
The day was his.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Gill’s Dismissal
Shubman Gill lasted 28 balls and scored 16 before Prabath Jayasuriya claimed his wicket at 236 for 2 in the 61st over.
The dismissal was the only wicket Prabath took on Day 1 — which is not an indication that he bowled badly but rather that Padikkal and Rahul handled his left-arm angle well through the middle period and that Jaiswal’s wicket came through a run-out rather than a bowler’s intervention.
Gill’s 16 off 28 is the only disappointing batting return from the day — a captain dismissed for 16 on a good batting surface, on a day India batted first after winning the toss, when the match situation demanded a captain’s innings. The WTC stakes and the series context made a big Gill innings important. The Test has four more days. His second innings will be the opportunity to respond.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — Sri Lanka Bowling
Sri Lanka’s bowling on Day 1 was led by Prabath Jayasuriya, who took the only genuine wicket of the day — Gill caught and bowled for 16 in the 61st over.
Prabath’s overall figures on Day 1 were not disastrous — one wicket on a flat batting surface against a team that had won the toss, chosen to bat and batted well — but the absence of a second wicket through 73 overs tells you that India’s batters handled the left-arm angle better than Sri Lanka’s bowling attack had hoped.
Keshara Nuwantha’s figures of 0 for 98 from his overs are the Day 1 bowling story Sri Lanka do not want to revisit. He troubled batters — his left-arm spin generating turn and causing discomfort at various points — but the wickets did not come. 98 runs conceded without reward is a difficult day by any assessment. Nuwantha continued into Day 2 where he eventually found the breakthrough.
India Playing XI — Confirmed
| s.no | Player | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 32 | Run out — 11 overs |
| 2 | KL Rahul | 77 | Retired hurt — cramps after tea |
| 3 | Devdutt Padikkal | 131* | Maiden Test century — Day 1 hero |
| 4 | Shubman Gill (c) | 16 | b Prabath 61.5 ov |
| 5 | Rishabh Pant (wk) | 27* | Unbeaten at stumps |
| 6 | Ravindra Jadeja | TBC | Day 2 |
| 7 | Manav Suthar | TBC | Day 2 |
| 8 | Kuldeep Yadav | TBC | Day 2 |
| 9 | Gurnoor Brar | TBC | Day 2 |
| 10 | Mohammed Siraj | TBC | Day 2 |
| 11 | Prasidh Krishna/Nabi | TBC | Day 2 |
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — WTC Context
India entered the Galle Test fifth in the WTC 2025-27 standings with 48.15 PCT. Sri Lanka were sixth with 41.67 PCT. Each WTC Test win is 12 points. A 2-0 series win would add 24 points and significantly improve India’s WTC Final qualification path.
Day 1’s 288 for 2 — building to 353 for 4 by mid-Day 2 — gives India the platform for a first-innings total of 450-plus, which at Galle puts them in an almost unassailable position by days three and four when the pitch deteriorates.
The WTC stakes make the Padikkal century more than a personal milestone. It is the foundation innings that could win India the Galle Test.
India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 live — How to Watch
| Platform | Region | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Star Sports Network | India | TV broadcast |
| JioHotstar | India | Live streaming |
| Sony LIV | India | App streaming |
| Sky Sports | UK | TV + digital |
Day 2 start: 4:30 AM IST — August 16, 2026
Online Cricket ID – Watch India vs Sri Lanka Galle Test Live Scores & Updates
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FAQ — India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15 Live
Q1: What was the Day 1 score in India Sri Lanka Galle Test August 15?
India ended Day 1 of the Galle Test on 288 for 2 in 73 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Devdutt Padikkal was unbeaten on 131 off 178 balls — his maiden Test century. Rishabh Pant was the other not-out batter on 27. KL Rahul scored 77 before retiring hurt with cramps, Yashasvi Jaiswal made 32 before being run out and Shubman Gill scored 16 before being dismissed by Prabath Jayasuriya.
Q2: What is Devdutt Padikkal’s score in the Galle Test?
Devdutt Padikkal scored 131 not out off 178 balls on Day 1 of the Galle Test — his maiden Test century. He came in after Jaiswal’s early run-out, batted through Rahul’s retirement and Gill’s dismissal, and remained unbeaten at stumps alongside Rishabh Pant on 27. Cricinfo described the day as belonging entirely to Padikkal.
Q3: Why did KL Rahul retire hurt in the Galle Test?
KL Rahul retired hurt after scoring 77 in India’s first innings due to severe cramps sustained during or after the tea break. The Galle coastal humidity in August makes the afternoon sessions physically demanding, and the cramps forced him off the field before he was dismissed. As a retired hurt batter, Rahul can return to bat if needed once the remaining wickets fall.
Q4: Who took wickets for Sri Lanka on Day 1 at Galle?
Prabath Jayasuriya took the only wicket of the day — dismissing Shubman Gill for 16 in the 61st over. Keshara Nuwantha bowled throughout the day without reward, his figures reading 0 for 98. The inability to take more than one wicket across 73 overs on Day 1 put Sri Lanka in a difficult position heading into Day 2.
Q5: What is the India Sri Lanka Galle Test schedule?
The India Sri Lanka first Test is at Galle International Cricket Stadium from August 15-19, 2026. Play starts at 10:00 AM local time (4:30 AM IST) each day. The second Test is at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23-27.
Q6: Where can I watch India Sri Lanka Galle Test live in India?
The India Sri Lanka Galle Test is available live on Star Sports Network (TV), JioHotstar (streaming) and Sony LIV (app) in India. Day 2 begins at 4:30 AM IST on August 16. All five days are available on the same platforms with the same broadcast schedule.
