GALLE

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 fielding some turn 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 of a number three batter since Shubman Gill hit one against Bangladesh in Chennai in September 2024.

India had earlier 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 of 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 the depth of his crease to punch Jayasuriya through extra cover for four, before driving Sonal Dinusha through the off-side for another boundary. Rahul adopted a more patient approach, though he capitalised on loose deliveries. In the 43rd over, Rahul pushed off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha to long-on for a single to get his 21st Test half-century.

With Padikkal and Rahul being steady, Sri Lanka struggled to generate clear-cut opportunities on a slowing surface. Their best chance came in the 47th over when Padikkal edged Nuwantha, but the ball dropped just short of the slip fielder’s diving reach. Rahul battled fatigue and forearm cramps late in the session, and even received treatment from the physio after the 51st over.

He recovered to drill Nuwantha down the ground for four in the final over before tea, which stretched the second-wicket stand to 150 runs – 96 of which came in the second session. In the final session, with Rahul retiring hurt due to severe cramps, Padikkal accelerated smoothly alongside Gill. Facing Kumara, Padikkal collected consecutive boundaries before driving Nuwantha to mid-off in the 57th over to get his Test century in 134 balls and become the first left-handed batter since Sourav Ganguly in 2002 to score a Test hundred at number three for India.