Devdutt Padikkal cracks maiden Test hundred for IND vs SL in Galle

Devdutt Padikkal achieved a significant milestone in Test cricket on Saturday as he scored his maiden century for India against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. The 26-year-old batsman, playing at No. 3, made his way to the century mark off 134 balls during the first day of the opening Test match. Shubman Gill, India's opener, won the toss and chose to bat first.

Padikkal, who had previously only played three Tests since making his debut in 2024, has now become only the second Indian No. 3 to score a century in a Test since Cheteshwar Pujara's last appearance in June 2023. The young batsman came in to bat at the end of the 11th over following the dismissal of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was run out due to a mix-up involving KL Rahul.

Prior to this, Padikkal had made a strong impact during the warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) XI in Colombo last week, where he scored an impressive 142 not out. With Sai Sudharsan ruled out of the series due to injury, Padikkal climbed up the No. 3 position and is considered to be one of India's strongest contenders for the role.

Since 2024, Padikkal has scored 1,152 runs at an average of 57.6, including four centuries, establishing himself as one of the top-performing No. 3 batsmen in domestic cricket.