Image Credit: CricInfo.
Venue: Galle International Stadium, Galle [August 15-19, 2026].
In August 2026, the Indian Cricket Team toured Sri Lanka to play 2 test matches. The series was crucial for the visitors to keep their hopes alive for the race to the WTC Final. Regretfully, many Indian players failed to recover from their respective injuries before the series; as a result, there will be multiple new additions to the squad. Devdutt Padikkal was one of them. And Boy! What an impact he had in this series.
In the first test at Galle, Indian Captain Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision turned out to be a good one, as the visitors posted a big total of 462 runs in their first innings. Padikkal, who was making a return to the test side after the 2024 Perth Test, made an incredible 167. The man who was out of the test side for more than 20 months immediately adapted to the conditions and justified his selection as a number 3 batter.
The number 3 position has been a headache for the Indian side since Pujara's departure. Innumerable experiments have been done with multiple players, but all went in vain. Interestingly, had not Sai Sudarshan been inured, Padikkal would not have got the spot. Sai's injury thus proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we got a technically sound batsman for our number 3 position.
It is pertinent to note that in spin-friendly conditions, Padikkal batted for more than 5.5 hours, in which he faced 230 deliveries. Furthermore, this innings of his comprised 15 boundaries and one massive six as the Sri Lankan bowlers looked helpless in front of him. Apart from Padikkal, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel also scored gritty half-centuries as Indians strengthened their hold over the match.
In response, the hosts were bowled out for just 284 in their first innings as the duo of Jadeja (3) and Suthar (4) ran riot. Had it not been for the partnership between Dinusha (100) and Dickwella (80), the Lankans would have struggled to avoid a follow-on. It was this duo which took Sri Lanka from 90/5 to 284. The partnership of 146 runs saved some honour of the hosts.
Furthermore, the pitch started to deteriorate by the time play reached day 4. Batting became incredibly tough in the latter part as the Indians were bowled out for just 193 in their second innings. The batting was so hard that barring Rishabh Pant, no Indian batsman reached the fifty-run mark. However, Padikkal, who scored a majestic first innings ton, did score a gritty 44 in the second innings, as the hosts now needed 372 runs to win the test and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was almost certain that the Lankans wouldn't be winning the test. The question was, will they survive the remaining overs with a rain threat looming all over? However, Manav Suthar bowled an incredible spell (6-55) in the second innings as Indians pulled out a brilliant test win just in the nick of time. Mind you, it started raining heavily just after the final wicket was taken. The hosts did put a fight in the second innings, but it was not enough to stop an Indian win.
Devdutt Padikkal was awarded the man of the match award as the visitors took a vital 1-0 lead in the 2-match series.
To watch the Highlights of the Test, Click Below-
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