GALLE, AUG 15 (IANS): Playing in Tests for the first time since November 2024, Devdutt Padikkal hit his maiden Test century as India dominated Sri Lanka by reaching 288/2 in 73 overs at stumps after bad light and rain brought an early close to the opening day of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Saturday.
Having opted to bat first after winning the toss in their 600th Test, India were given a fluent start by their opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal (32) and vice-captain KL Rahul, who retired hurt on 77 in the final session due to cramps. But left-handed Padikkal looked the part to get a big score – using the crease well and showcasing great footwork, as well as running hard for his ones and twos- to hit 131 not out off 178 balls, laced with 12 fours and a six.
With Rishabh Pant unbeaten on 27 off 36 balls, Padikkal and India are poised to get a mammoth total in the first innings. It also helped that Sri Lanka, despite finding some turn via spinners, were never consistent in their lines and lengths in what is also Galle’s 50th Test match.
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly Padikkal seizing his chance at number three with a composed century – the first coming off a number three batter since Shubman Gill hit one against Bangladesh in Chennai in September 2024. Since Cheteshwar Pujara vacated the slot in June 2023, 11 batters were tried without success in 20 games.
Padikkal’s century was built on contrasting footwork patterns – he managed 40 off 76 balls on the front foot at a strike rate of 52.63 with four boundaries. But it was his back foot play that defined the innings, yielding 82 runs off 95 balls at a strike rate of 86.31 with eight fours. He added another nine runs off seven deliveries while stepping down the track, including a lone six, which highlights how his dominance came from commanding the back foot while mixing in bursts of aggression when advancing.
Relief was evident in the Indian dressing room, as head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar lauded his century. Padikkal remained on the fringes for a long time and had B Sai Sudharsan been fit for the series, he would have spent time on the bench again.
But with his sparkling century, India have found a batter capable of holding the one drop role from a long-term perspective in him.
In the morning, Jaiswal appeared in sublime touch by getting boundaries via flicks, on-drive and cut whenever Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara erred in their lengths. Sri Lanka introduced spin as early as the ninth over through debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha. His opening over was marked by a scary incident when short-leg fielder Nishan Madushka was struck flush on his helmet by a powerful pull shot from Rahul, forcing him to leave the field for further medical evaluation.
India had moved to 47 without loss in the 11th over when a chaotic mix-up brought an unfortunate end to Jaiswal’s stay at the crease. Rahul drove a flighted delivery from Nuwantha towards mid-on and took off for a single. Jaiswal, attempting to run from the non-striker’s end, collided with Nuwantha, who was diving to stop the ball.
Jaiswal lost his balance and fell, even as Rahul ran to complete a run. However, Jaiswal got back up and then abruptly turned back, resulting in both batters scrambling to be at the same end. Rahul grounded his bat first, and when keeper Niroshan Dickwella removed the bails, Jaiswal had to go back to the pavilion.
Padikkal, high on confidence after hitting an unbeaten 142 in the warm-up game, immediately asserted control over the Sri Lankan spinners by hammering Nuwantha for four, and later launched left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya over long-on for a maximum in the 14th over.
Even as Padikkal hit bad balls for boundaries, Rahul also loosened up as he danced down the track to loft Jayasuriya for a straight six before cutting him past point for four and bringing up India’s hundred in the 26th over.
At the lunch break, Padikkal and Rahul’s unbroken second-wicket partnership stood at 54 runs, as rain arrived. The rain interruption lasted 80 minutes before Jayasuriya and Fernando resumed proceedings. Padikkal picked up the scoring rate comfortably after the restart and brought up his half-century off 81 balls with a cut to deep backward point.
Brief scores:
India 288/2 in 73 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 131 not out, KL Rahul 77 retired hurt; Prabath Jayasuriya 1-77) against Sri Lanka