Following his career-best performance against Sri Lanka in Galle, Devdutt Padikkal, an Indian batsman, stated that his first Test century was the consequence of improved clarity in his approach against spin and an unyielding ambition to convert three-figure scores into more meaningful knocks. As he went on to record his first century, Padikkal, who had been working hard over the past two years for a chance to make an impression at the Test level, claimed that totally committing to his goals helped polish his technique.
Following Sai Sudharsan’s injury, Padikkal took over as number three. After Sourav Ganguly, who scored 136 against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2002, he became the second left-handed batter to score a Test century for India from the number three position in the twenty-first century with his undefeated 131 off 134 balls. On August 15, Padikkal joined Virat Kohli as the only other Indian to reach an international century. Ajay Jadeja, a former Indian cricket player, discussed his feelings about Padikkal’s knock.
Talking on Sony Sports, Jadeja said, “You can call it pure batting. He stuck with his approach and game from the first ball. It’s not like he played differently after the hundred. He played each ball on merit. He defended when required and attacked when required. We saw a pure batter playing. Pleasing to the eye. It seems like batting is so easy when he is playing shots. The partner also feels he is playing so easily. I like him a lot as a player. I have been waiting since I saw him four or five years ago. Better late than never. There was no talk about him one match ago. He came in when someone got injured. I feel the more quality bowling comes, the more you will appreciate this batter.”
Growing up, Padikkal seen a number of Karnataka hitters make large runs, and he claimed that their performances motivated him to follow in their footsteps. Padikkal observed that the Galle surface had started to grip a little bit more on the second day, but he anticipated that it would speed up considerably as the Test went on. Even tho Padikkal’s first Test century was significant, he wasn’t in the mood for a lavish celebration.
