Devdutt Padikkal has sealed the Player of the Series award in India’s 1-0 Test win over Sri Lanka, finishing the two-match tour with 328 runs at an average of over 109.
His series included two centuries and a top score of 167, a return that came after he was brought into the side to replace the injured Sai Sudharsan.
“This was my chance to really prove something and make sure that I show everyone that I am capable of getting big runs,” Padikkal said of the opportunity.
“I have done that throughout my career in first-class cricket, and now I am really happy it showed in the Test arena as well,” he added.
India clinched the series with a 165-run win in the first Test at Galle, before the second Test in Colombo was drawn after Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha scored twin centuries.
Padikkal’s 167 came in India’s first innings of the series and remains his highest Test score to date, underlining the scale of his breakthrough on the tour.
The left-hander’s performance has strengthened his case for a settled opening role in India’s Test line-up heading into the team’s upcoming home season.
Padikkal stepped into the side as a replacement for injured opener Sai Sudharsan, and made the most of the opportunity across the two-Test series.
He carried strong domestic form into the tour, including a 232-run knock in the Ranji Trophy semifinal earlier in the year, which had already marked him out as in-form ahead of the Sri Lanka assignment.
“When you come to Sri Lanka, you always expect that spin challenge, and I was personally looking forward to the same, making sure I was prepared really well leading up to the series,” Padikkal said.
“Now I am happy I was able to tackle spin well, to the best of my ability, and I hope I continue to work on it and get better at it,” he added.
Photo by Lionel Allorge, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (representative cricket image)
