Devdutt Padikkal was named Player of the Series after India’s 1-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka, finishing with 328 runs across three innings at an average of more than 109.
The left-hander scored two centuries during the series, including a best of 167, as he made the most of a chance to open the batting in place of the injured Sai Sudharsan.
“It feels great. Coming into the series, once I knew I was going to get that opportunity, I was looking forward to it, that this was my chance to really prove something,” Padikkal said.
“Hopefully, I can take the confidence I have got from this forward in my career,” he added, reflecting on the series that saw him emerge as India’s standout batter.
India sealed the series with a 165-run win in the first Test at Galle, before Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha batted the hosts to a draw in the second Test at Colombo with twin centuries.
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.
India won the series 1-0 after taking the first Test in Galle by 165 runs, before Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha batted the hosts to an epic draw in the second Test at Colombo with an unbeaten 133.
Photo by Lionel Allorge, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (representative cricket image)
