Two days out from the second Test against Sri Lanka, Yashasvi Jaiswal headed straight to the pacers' nets on a hot morning at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo with a clear plan: eliminate the cut shot that has been getting him into trouble.

Jaiswal, now 30 Tests old and staggeringly having played each at a different venue, has become a vital batting cog for India who can effectively bring his white-ball flair to red-ball cricket. It reflects in his career strike-rate of 66.24. But his dismissal in the first Test at Galle just three days ago exposed a worrying pattern.

Asitha Fernando got him chasing a length ball outside off-stump, edging it behind to Niroshan Dickwella. It was the fourth time in 27 deliveries since the start of India's home summer last October that Jaiswal had got out attempting the cut shot against pacers. By contrast, in the two years prior — from his Test debut in July 2023 to last year's tour of England — he had got out only four times with that shot across 190 deliveries. His false shot percentage in that zone had jumped from 31.1 to 48.1.

Nets session: A test of restraint

On Friday, all of India's pacers — and the fast bowling coach — put Jaiswal's resolve to the test. Auqib Nabi was the first to throw the left-hander a bait: a ball in the channel outside off-stump, there to be cut away. Jaiswal watched, leaned in, and let it go.

Gurnoor Brar bowled the same line but pushed the length up, and Jaiswal went for a cover drive and missed. His exasperated shout of 'hatt' reverberated around the empty venue. Crucially, that was the first and last time he chased a delivery in that space.

Between 10-ball stints with Devdutt Padikkal, Jaiswal had conversations with head coach Gautam Gambhir. When he returned to face Prasidh Krishna, who dished out balls outside off-stump, Jaiswal once again showed no interest in playing at them. Nabi and Brar tried from round the stumps too, and drew blanks. Morne Morkel jumped in, but to no avail — Jaiswal refused to budge.

He finished up and headed straight for the ice box for a couple of deserved bottles of water. Five minutes later, he was at the other nets, facing the spinners.

The real test awaits

It was a morning where Jaiswal showed he could curb bad habits, but doing it in the nets might be a lot easier than in a match situation. At the SSC, every little inch of knowledge and advantage will matter — especially for the bowlers. Surfaces at the venue have been a joy for batters, a fact Fernando and his fellow quicks will already be aware of.

Whenever Jaiswal takes strike in his 31st venue in as many matches, the Sri Lanka quicks will test his patience in the dreaded zone. Whether he slashes at them from habit, or carries the new-found restraint into the middle, will define how his game goes — and potentially India's fortunes in the second Test.