Devdutt Padikkal smashed his maiden Test century on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka. Coming in at number three after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s run-out for 32, the 26-year-old left-hander produced a quality knock. He reached three figures off 134 balls smashing nine boundaries and one six along the way and soon twitter started posting about him. His 150-run partnership with KL Rahul put India firmly in control. Padikkal became only the second Indian left-handed batter in the 21st century to score a Test century from No. 3, after former captain Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly had scored 136 against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2002.

This century from Padikkal also ended a long wait for an Indian batter to score a Test hundred from No. 3. The last Indian to achieve the feat was Shubman Gill, who scored a century against Bangladesh in Chennai in September 2024. Since then, India had used seven different batters at No. 3 across 19 Tests, with the position collectively averaging just 27.28 and producing only five scores of 50 or more in 35 innings.

X erupted in praise as Devdutt Padikkal hit his maiden Test century

Social media platform Twitter went berserk once the milestone was completed. Fans and former players celebrated the quality of the innings. Many highlighted the historic Independence day angle. Others pointed to the technical control against spin and declared that Padikkal had sealed the number three spot for the near future.

 

 

Posts flooded timelines with images of his celebration. Supporters of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where Padikkal has long been a favourite also cheered. It was a day that belonged to the Karnataka batter and he dominated the match completely and made it his own. He ended up unbeaten at the end of Day 1 and fans will be hoping he goes on to convert this into an even bigger score.