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Devdutt Padikkal marked his return to India’s Test setup in style, smashing his maiden Test century during the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. The left-hander, who has won two IPL titles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, produced a fluent and assured knock at No. 3 to make a strong case for himself in India’s middle order.
Padikkal joins elite list of India’s no. 3 left-handers
Padikkal became only the second Indian left-handed batter in the 21st century to score a Test century from No. 3, after former captain Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly had scored 136 against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2002.Overall, Padikkal is the sixth Indian left-hander to score a Test hundred from the No. 3 position. The list is led by Vinod Kambli with four centuries, followed by Ganguly with three, while Salim Durani, Bapu Nadkarni, Ajit Wadekar, Eknath Solkar, Surinder Amarnath and now Padikkal have one each.
Ends India’s no. 3 search with timely ton
Padikkal’s century also ended a prolonged wait for an Indian batter to score a Test hundred from No. 3. The last Indian to achieve the feat was Shubman Gill, who scored a century against Bangladesh in Chennai in September 2024. Since then, India had used seven different batters at No. 3 across 19 Tests, with the position collectively averaging just 27.28 and producing only five scores of 50 or more in 35 innings.The 25-year-old had also enjoyed a productive 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, averaging 60.33, and carried that confidence into Galle. After reaching his century, Padikkal celebrated with a fist pump and a punch of the air before removing his helmet and raising his bat towards the crowd and his teammates.India captain Shubman Gill congratulated him in the middle, while head coach Gautam Gambhir applauded from the dressing room. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar was also present at the venue and joined in the celebrations.
