Devdutt Padikkal's masterclass against spin bowling propelled India into a position of total control on Day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium.
Stepping into the critical No. 3 position to cover for the injured Sai Sudharsan, the 26-year-old left-hander justified the team management's faith by striking a magnificent, unbeaten 131 runs off 178 balls. His majestic performance safely guided the visitors to a commanding 288/2 at stumps.
Speaking after the day’s play, Padikkal shared several crucial insights regarding his performance and journey. For him, the motivation was to get through a physically demanding innings in Galle, where the heat and humidity took a toll.
“In this knock, determination for me was playing through that tiredness and fatigue that I was feeling, especially towards the third session. I think it was getting really hot, and we were losing a lot of fluid. We were sweating all the time. So it was really important that I was determined enough to keep going and keep pushing forward,” Padikkal said in a video shared by BCCI.
“It wasn't the easiest of wickets to bat on. I think we had to make sure that we didn't play too many last shots. We had to make sure that we kept our minds in the game as long as possible because, like I said, again, when you get tired, it's easy to lose that discipline, and I think as a team we did that well today,” he added.
Having played his last Test in 2024, Padikkal spent two years working on technical refinements from the sidelines. No wonder, it was a significant innings form him.
“Patience for me, I think it was more to do with what I've gone through before this game. I think my last Test was in 2024. So it's been a long time coming, and I've had to patiently wait, look on from the outside. It's never easy. But at the same time, it gave me time to really work on my game and perfect things that needed perfecting. And I'm really glad that all that hard work came to effect today. It feels great,” he remarked.
The lanky southpaw admitted to feeling tense as he approached the 100-run milestone before executing it smoothly.
He also noted that the venue holds a special place for him, having scored runs there previously for India A and in the warm-up game.
“I was a bit nervous towards the end when I got closer to it, but I think that's part of it, and I'm really happy to get over that. Especially this ground, I think even when we came here with the India A side, I got a few runs and even in the warm-up game, obviously I got some runs. So yeah, I guess it's a really special place for me and glad to keep it going,” he stated.
