On a day packed with drama, injuries and confrontations, Devdutt Padikkal once again emerged as India’s man of the moment. The tall left-hander continued his dream run in Sri Lanka, crafting a gritty second successive century to steer India to 300 for five on a hard-fought opening day of the second and final Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Sunday.
The Karnataka skipper’s 117 off 193 balls was worth far more than the score suggested. On a livelier SSC surface offering bounce and movement, Padikkal held India’s innings together after the visitors lost wickets at crucial moments and suffered a scare when Rishabh Pant retired hurt after being struck on the forearm by a Lahiru Kumara delivery.
Padikkal’s form has been a major positive for India. Drafted in at No. 3 in place of Sai Sudharsan for this series, he has now amassed 328 runs in three innings at an average of 109.33, following scores of 167, 44 and 117. He had also scored an unbeaten century in the warm-up game, strengthening his case to retain his spot when Sudharsan returns.
India’s day began brightly after skipper Shubman Gill opted to bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal looked in sublime touch, racing to 45 off 53 balls with nine boundaries. The left-hander punished Kumara early and unfurled some trademark drives before falling against the run of play to Asitha Fernando, who breached his defence with a superb nip-backer.
The dismissal sparked controversy. Fer nando gave Jaiswal an animated send-off and the opener turned back, exchanging words with the pacer before the pair came face-to-face. At one point, Jaiswal’s helmet brushed Fernando’s forehead before Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva stepped in to defuse the tension. Earlier, KL Rahul had contributed 18 before edging Kumara behind the wicket after helping India reach 37.
With India at 66 for two, Padikkal and Gill rebuilt calmly. The pair added 120 runs for the third wicket, blunting Sri Lanka’s attack through the afternoon. Gill looked set for another substantial contribution and reached his ninth Test fifty, while also crossing the milestone of 3,000 Test runs in his 43rd match. However, the India captain could not capitalise, edging Fernando to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella for 50.
India’s troubles deepened soon after when Pant, attempting a pull shot against Kumara, was struck painfully on the forearm and retired hurt on three.
That left Padikkal with the responsibility of guiding the innings, and he responded admirably. Having survived two early chances, dropped on nought by Sonal Dinusha and again on one by Dhananjaya de Silva, he made Sri Lanka pay. Unlike his fluent 167 at Galle, this was an innings built on patience and discipline. Padikkal negotiated the seamers carefully, rotated strike efficiently and punished loose deliveries from the spinners.
He found valuable support from Ravindra Jadeja, who contributed 43 in a 74-run fifth-wicket stand that steadied India after Pant’s exit. Padikkal eventually reached his century with a composed single off Prabath Jayasuriya before Keshara Nuwantha finally ended his resistance with a delivery that spun sharply to hit the stumps.
Jadeja too looked set for a fifty before Fernando produced another peach that jagged back from round the stumps to castle him.
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Fernando was Sri Lanka’s standout bowler, finishing with three for 46 from 16 impressive overs, while Kumara claimed one wicket and consistently troubled the batters with his pace and his shortball tactic. Earlier in the day, India handed a Test debut to 33-year-old off-spinner Saransh Jain after Kuldeep Yadav was ruled out with a viral infection. Jain, became the first Indian off-spinner to make his Test debut since Washington Sundar in 2021.
