Devdutt Padikkal is on fire for India in the ongoing two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The left-handed batter from Karnataka scored a century for India in the first innings of the first Test between the two teams in Galle from August 15 to 19. On Sunday (August 23), he once again scored a century for the Shubman Gill-led side in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka.
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Padikkal needed 168 balls to reach the three-figure mark for India during the third session of the opening day’s play. By scoring a century in the second Test, the 26-year-old has joined an elite list of Indian batters.
The left-handed batter is the sixth Indian cricketer after Vinod Kambli, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara to score centuries in back-to-back Tests in Sri Lanka.
Kambli scored centuries in consecutive Tests during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in July-August 1993, while Tendulkar and Azharuddin slammed back-to-back Test centuries during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in August 1997.
Dhawan scored a century in his final Test of India’s 2015 tour of Sri Lanka and then followed it up with another century in the first Test of the 2017 series. Pujara also scored a century for India in his final Test of the 2015 Sri Lanka tour and then in the first Test of the 2017 series in Galle. He followed it up with another century in the second Test of India’s 2017 tour of Sri Lanka.
Indians to score centuries in back-to-back Tests in Sri Lanka
Padikkal, who made his Test debut for India in March 2024 against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, added 120 runs off 209 balls for the third wicket with captain Shubman Gill on Sunday. He then shared a 74-run partnership off 115 balls for the fourth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who is playing his 50th WTC match for India.
Padikkal, who won the Player of the Match award in the first India-Sri Lanka Test for his brilliant century in the first innings, slammed 10 fours en route to his second Test century. Before scoring back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka in the ongoing series, Padikkal had scored only one half-century for India in the five-day format of the game.
Devdutt Padikkal is the sixth Indian cricketer to score centuries in back-to-back Tests in Sri Lanka, joining Vinod Kambli, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Shikhar Dhawan, and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Devdutt Padikkal's back-to-back Test centuries in Sri Lanka have solidified his position in the Indian team's middle order. He has been described as a new star in Indian cricket.
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