Devdutt Padikkal 167 steers India in first Test at Galle
Devdutt Padikkal became the 84th Indian to score a Test century when he made 167 for India against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle International Stadium on August 18, 2026; it was his maiden Test hundred and came in only his third Test appearance.
Padikkal’s three caps have arrived across a 29-month span, largely as cover for unavailable players: he debuted against England in March 2024 after Rajat Patidar was ruled out with a left-ankle injury on the morning of the match, and he was drafted into India’s Perth Test against Australia when Shubman Gill fractured his left thumb in an intra-squad simulation match.
On debut at No. 4 versus England, Padikkal scored 65, showing off-offside strokes from the back foot; in Perth he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for a 23-ball duck in the first innings and returned 25 in the second before Hazlewood again dismissed him.
Padikkal had a strong IPL 2026 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scoring 464 runs at a strike-rate of 168.72 as the defending champions retained the title; only Virat Kohli (675) and Rajat Patidar (501) made more runs for RCB, and among players with at least 250 runs only Patidar (192.69) and Tim David (188.27) posted higher strike-rates.
Within the domestic circuit Padikkal assumed leadership when Karnataka relieved Mayank Agarwal of the Ranji Trophy captaincy midway through the campaign; he produced several impactful knocks and led the team to the title round, where they lost in the final to Jammu & Kashmir in Hubbali, a sequence that attracted the attention of head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Selection dynamics earlier in the season saw Karun Nair recalled after strong domestic form but he managed only a solitary half-century in the final Test at the Oval, while India’s poor home series against South Africa in November prompted a wider search for middle-order options; Padikkal was earmarked as a Test candidate but his immediate opportunity came when Sai Sudharsan was ruled out of the Sri Lanka tour with a stress reaction in his big toe.
Padikkal arrived in Sri Lanka having put in runs on the ‘A’ tour (12, 67 and 94) and after ten days in Colombo he posted an unbeaten 142 for an SLC XI; at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket he trained with personal coach Naseeruddin Mohammed, working on playing the red Kookaburra, handling varied spinners, adopting a lower stance to get to the pitch of the ball, and keeping the hands softer with dropped wrists.
On day one at Galle Padikkal began with a pulled four off debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha and soon cleared long-on off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya; he batted for five and a half hours, displaying decisive footwork on a surface offering plenty for spinners, and his 167 ended a 35-innings wait for an Indian No. 3 to score a Test century. Only Sachin Tendulkar (203), Virender Sehwag (201) and Shikhar Dhawan (190) have recorded larger individual scores for India in Sri Lanka.
Padikkal has the chance to build on the gains from his Galle innings next week in the Sri Lankan capital.
