Timesofindia.com in Galle: Quick single, a punch in the air followed by a jubilant jump before unleashing another punch. The helmet came off in a flash, and his arms spread wide to acknowledge the applause from the dressing room and the spectators braving the heat on the grass banks. It was a memorable moment for Devdutt Padikkal, who notched up his maiden Test hundred, and it couldn't have come at a better time, both for him and the country.
Playing a Test for the country after 632 days, he walked into bat after a moment of chaos between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who were involved in a terrible mix-up, but took the mantle seamlessly from the opener. Devdutt got off the mark with a boundary, danced down the track to launch Prabath Jayasuriya for a maximum early in the innings and showcased excellent footwork against both spin and pace.
There wasn't much happening off the surface in the first session, but the odd delivery did surprise the batters, mostly because of the drift caused by the crosswinds. Off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha, introduced in the ninth over on his debut, got one to drift in and hold its line after pitching, but the bounce saved Devdutt, who wore a look of disbelief. No one expected that kind of assistance from the surface that early in the contest, and the remainder of the day showed that what happened in the 13th over was an anomaly.
Except for the occasional delivery with more drift than usual, there wasn't much turn on offer, and Devdutt remained very busy and breezy in his approach, outscoring his senior partner, Rahul, with ease. Like the spinners, pacers Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando also found little assistance. The two had their moments, but their effort wasn't consistent enough to challenge the visitors in the beautiful batting conditions. After the first rain break, Asitha bowled a testing spell to both Rahul and Devdutt, but both were seasoned enough to navigate the period, when moisture might have seeped into the surface because of the strong shower, and then feasted on some ordinary bowling.
While Rahul was happy to switch to blockathon mode, Devdutt kept the board moving at a fair clip. The Karnataka batters, who spend a lot of time off the field bonding over their mutual love for coffee, complemented each other really well. Rahul, who unfortunately retired hurt due to cramps, enjoys batting with Devdutt as the left-hander's positive approach allows him to switch to zen mode.
Devdutt remained in the driving seat of the 150-run stand, which put India in a dominant position on the opening day, maximizing the crucial toss Shubman Gill had won earlier. With the pitch expected to deteriorate in the coming days, India's best shot at winning the Test is to bat once and bat big, and both Devdutt and Rahul laid a solid foundation for that.
A couple of weeks ago, Devdutt was nowhere close to the playing XI, but an ill-timed injury to Sai Sudharsan opened up the No. 3 slot. The management, not leaving anything to last-minute chaos, had asked Devdutt to be ready, and the Karnataka batter was mentally in the zone to make the chance count. For over a year now, he has spent a lot of time working on his game against spin, and domination has remained the keyword.
This domination even caught the eye of chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who was also in the stands in Galle during a Ranji Trophy game between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in 2024. Devdutt has only taken his game up several notches since his debut in the home series against England, and even though opportunities remained few and far between, the work continued behind the scenes.
The 26-year-old identified the No. 3 slot as his own, even though his Test debut occurred at No. 4. In the 2025-26 season, where he also took over as captain from Mayank Agarwal, Padikkal stuck to the No. 3 spot except for one game against Punjab. He returned with a tournament haul of 543 runs in six games, a massive improvement from the 129 runs in four games during the 2024-25 edition. Role clarity, leadership responsibility and domination against spin worked in his favour as he signalled his readiness for game time with the Test team.
The outing in Galle has ensured that whenever Sai regains match fitness, he will not be a straightforward pick in the Playing XI and will always have a ready Devdutt breathing down his neck.
Brief Scores
India: 288 for 2 after 73 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 131 not out, KL Rahul 77 retired hurt; Prabath Jayasuriya 1/77)
