Kuldeep impresses as Rahul hits half-century in warm-up game

Colombo - Kuldeep and Jadeja shared seven wickets on Day One

Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja ran through the Sri Lanka Board's President XI (SLBP) batting before opener KL Rahul made a solid return from injury on the opening day of the two-day warm-up tie in Colombo on Friday.
The home team were comfortably placed at 139 for one, thanks to the second-wicket stand from opener Danushka Gunathilaka (74) and Lahiru Thirimanne (59) before collapsing to 187 all out.
The match situation changed drastically after Thirimanne's fall in the 38th over with the next nine batsmen adding 48 to the total in the innings lasting 55.5 overs.
All eight bowlers in the Indian squad had a go with 'Chinaman' Kuldeep (4/14 in 6.5 overs) and Jadeja (3/31 in 9 overs) standing out. India got to bat 30 overs, scoring 135 for three with opener Abhinav Mukund (0) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12) falling cheaply. 
KL Rahul, returning to competitive cricket after a three-month injury lay-off, made a fine 54 off 58 balls including seven fours. Virat Kohli too got to spend some time in the middle. He scored 34 off 46 balls and shared an unbeaten 43-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane (30 unbeaten off 30).
Brief scores: Sri Lanka Board President's XI 187 all out in 55.5 overs (Gunathilaka 74, Thirimanne 59; Kuldeep 4/14). India 135/3 in 30 overs (Rahul 54, Kohli 34 not out; Fernando 2/21). 
Both Pujara and Mukund were bowled by left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando.
On the bowling front, it was a near perfect day for India ahead of the first Test beginning in Colombo on July 26.
Mohammed Shami worked up good pace to take a couple of wickets in five overs.
Notably, India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went wicketless in 10 overs while Kuldeep and Jadeja troubled the batsmen.
Kuldeep has been impressive ever since he made his Test debut against Australia in March before making an impact in the limited-overs series in the West Indies.
The focus for India on Saturday will be to ensure the other batsmen get to spend time in the middle.