Padikkal's maiden Test ton lights up Galle

Fresh from his fine unbeaten century during the three-day warm-up clash between the Sri Lanka XI and the Indian side, Devdutt Padikkal celebrated a fine century at number three during the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium to put the tourists in the driver’s seat.

India’s captain, Shubman Gill, won the toss and decided to bat first on a surface which is expected to get tough for the batters to counter the spin in the last innings. In the absence of Sai Sudharsan, the management showed their trust in Padikkal at number three.

Watch: Padikkal Brings Up His Maiden Ton with a single Off 134 Balls in Galle

Since his arrival at the crease, Padikkal showed early aggression with the bat as he came down the surface and got close to the ball to swing through the line against Prabath Jayasuriya to smash a fine six before continuing the same onslaught with the regular boundaries around the park.

Watch Devdutt Padikkal's maiden Test century here-

Just after the lunch break, Padikkal reached his fifty with a single as he cut to the deep backward point region. Boundaries continued to come in all parts of the ground as he looked at ease against all the bowlers of the Sri Lankan side.

He looked a bit nervous when he was sent back for a double by the captain of the blue brigade. But his wait finally ended when his tight single saw him celebrating his maiden century in the red-ball format. He fist-pumped and punched the air in delight along with a massive jump.

The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, sported a smile on his face as he stood and applauded from the dressing room. The last Indian batter before him to get a Test century at number three was Shubman Gill against Bangladesh in September 2024, which was 18 Tests ago.

Padikkal is also the second left-handed batter to score a Test century from number three for the blue brigade in the 21st century after Sourav Ganguly, who scored a fine 136 against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2002.

Brief Scores: India 288/2 (Devdutt Padikkal 131*, Prabath Jayasuriya 1/77) vs Sri Lanka.