Rain played spoilsport on the opening day, washing out more than two sessions, after India had recovered to 50 for two in their first innings in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Friday.
- Scorecard
Persistent rain prevented any play after the first hour as the heavens opened up shortly in the morning session. The visitors had faced a mere 15 overs when rain destroyed any chances of play post lunch.
- PHOTOS from Day 1
Cheteshwar Pujara (19) and skipper Virat Kohli (14) were the unbeaten batsmen for India when play was called off after a couple of inspections on a soggy ground, which had puddles owing to the showers.
Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first on a recently re-laid pitch with a sprinkling of grass. The hosts made three changes to their side, with Upul Tharanga coming in for the retired Kumar Sangakkara.
Fit-again Nuwan Pradeep returned in place of Dushmantha Chameera while Jehan Mubarak was dropped and wicketkeeper Kusal Perera handed his Test debut.
India, on the other hand, made two changes to the playing eleven, with Pujara coming in for the injured Murali Vijay, and Naman Ojha handed his Test debut after Wriddhiman Saha's hamstring injury.
Pujara walked out to open the innings with K L Rahul (2). It was India's fifth different opening combination in the last six Tests.
And their partnership didn't last long, with Rahul bowled off the second ball he faced. Dhammika Prasad (1-16) bowled an inswinger that jagged back massively as the young opener offered no stroke only to find the ball crash into his off-stump.
Ajinkya Rahane (8) walked out to bat at No. 3, and started off with a couple of crispy drives down the ground. But his stay didn't last long either, as he was dismissed leg before wicket by Nuwan Pradeep (1-16) in the four over of the innings.
Pujara, who made his come back to the Indian team for the first time after he was dropped during the Test series in Australia in December, started off nervously before he found his footing. At the other end, Kohli had a close shave when his edge off Prasad fell short of the slips shortly before the rain prevented any further play in the day.
