India ended the first day of the Galle Test on 288/2, with Devdutt Padikkal stealing the match.
The Karnataka batter remained unbeaten on 133, while Rishabh Pant was on 27 at stumps. Rain reduced the first day’s play to 73 overs.
India started well after Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to bat. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 47 runs before Jaiswal was run out for 32. Padikkal then came in at No. 3.
And what happened next could be important for India’s middle order. Devdutt Padikkal first scored his fifty and then kept going. He completed his first Test century from 134 balls, hitting nine fours and one six.
It was only his third Test match. But the century had another big connection. Padikkal became only the second Indian batter to score a century on August 15, after Virat Kohli.
So, on Independence Day, Padikkal has now joined Kohli in a very small Indian cricket record. Padikkal answers India’s No. 3 question?
The century could also solve one of India’s biggest selection questions. Since Shubman Gill’s last Test century at No. 3 in September 2024, India had tried seven different batters at the position across 19 Tests.
None managed to make the spot their own. Padikkal has now made his case in his third Test.
Rahul retired hurt on 77 and Gill was dismissed for 16. Pant joined Padikkal and helped India finish strongly at Day 1. After so many changes at No. 3, has Padikkal finally given India the answer?
