\n<\/p>\n
Devdutt Padikkal Shines in Test Comeback Against Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n Devdutt Padikkal\u2019s return to the Indian Test team came as a surprise. Initially not in the plans, the left-handed batsman got his chance after Sai Sudharsan was sidelined with a toe injury for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. Padikkal, who hadn’t played a Test match since 2024, was chosen for the first Test in Galle.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old wasted no time in making an impact. Before the Test, he scored an impressive unbeaten 142 runs against Sri Lanka XI in a warm-up game in Colombo. Carrying that momentum into the Test match, Padikkal scored a remarkable 167 runs in his first innings, marking his first century in Test cricket.<\/p>\n In the second innings, he contributed significantly once again with a solid 44 runs, helping set a challenging target of 362 runs for Sri Lanka. His strong performances have sparked discussions about his future in the team, especially with Sudharsan’s eventual return on the horizon. However, Padikkal remains focused and isn’t getting caught up in speculation about his position in the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think about having a long-term spot at No. 3. It\u2019s crucial to take every chance you get. I don\u2019t seek those kinds of conversations,\u201d he said following the fourth day of play.<\/p>\n Padikkal Prioritizes Performance<\/strong><\/p>\n Padikkal’s main concern is to capitalize on each opportunity rather than get lost in selection debates. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t stress about playing consecutive matches because, in today\u2019s cricket, that\u2019s not a given. It\u2019s a results-driven sport. You are expected to perform whenever you get the chance,\u201d he explained. \u201cIf you don\u2019t, you can always find yourself under pressure regarding your place on the team. So, I focus on scoring runs, and if I do that, I believe I will have more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n His approach paid off during the match in Galle, where India declared their first innings at 462 runs, and Sri Lanka responded with 284 runs. In their second innings, India added 193 runs, setting Sri Lanka a tough mountain to climb.<\/p>\n By the end of Day 4, Sri Lanka stood at 84 for 4, needing 288 more runs to win with six wickets remaining. India is in a strong position to take a 1-0 lead in the series heading into the final day.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Devdutt Padikkal Shines in Test Comeback Against Sri Lanka Devdutt Padikkal\u2019s return to the Indian Test team came as a surprise. Initially not in the plans, the left-handed batsman got his chance after Sai Sudharsan was sidelined with a toe injury for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. Padikkal, who hadn’t played a Test match<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[11674,52157,53713,1328,53712,52786,53714],"class_list":["post-40769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-devdutt-padikkal","tag-galle-test","tag-india-no-3","tag-india-vs-sri-lanka","tag-padikkal-maiden-test-century","tag-sai-sudharsan-injury","tag-sri-lanka-target-362"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}