Devdhadhat Padikkal becomes the second Indian player to score a century in India's day

Indian batsman Devdhadhat Padikkal demonstrated outstanding play on the first day of the Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle on August 15 (Saturday). Coming in at number three, Padikkal scored his first century in his Test career.

In his first innings for India, Padikkal scored 134 runs, using 9 fours and one six to complete his century.

Devdhadhat Padikkal is the second left-handed batsman in the 21st century to score a hundred while batting at number three for India. Before him, this feat was achieved by Sorav Gavaskar. The former captain of India, Sorav Gavaskar, scored 136 runs against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2002.

After a long break, no Indian batsman had scored a hundred at number three in Test matches. The last player to achieve this was Shubman Gill, who accomplished this feat in September 2024 against Bangladesh in Chennai.

In the 19 Test matches played between that match and the current one, the Indian team tested seven different batsmen at number three. However, the performance of these seven players in this position did not meet expectations: they averaged 27.28 in 35 innings and managed to reach 50 or more only five times. Now Padikkal has ended a long wait by scoring a hundred in Galle.

This match is the third for 26-year-old Devdhadhat Padikkal. In the two previous Test matches, he scored an average of 90 runs in 30.00. Padikkal debuted in Test matches in March 2024 against England in Darmstadt. In his debut Test innings, Padikkal scored an impressive 65 runs. Furthermore, Padikkal played for the Indian team in two T20 international matches, where he scored an average of 38 runs in 19.00.

Debates about who is the greatest player of all time are constantly taking place in the world of cricket. Many cricket experts consider the legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar to be the most outstanding player. However, Australian fast bowler veteran Brett Lee has introduced a new twist to this discussion.

Brett Lee recognized Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman in the world. Nevertheless, when it came to the best all-rounder, he chose South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

During a recent interview on 'The Ranveer Show' (TRS), Brett Lee highly praised Kallis's achievements. He stated that while in his eyes the best batsman is Sachin Tendulkar, if it comes to the best all-rounder in cricket, it is Jacques Kallis. In his opinion, Kallis's statistics demonstrate that he is the best in the world because numbers never lie, and his record is incredible.

Kallis played for South Africa from 1995 to 2014. During this period, he scored 13,289 runs in Tests and 11,579 runs in One Day Internationals. Furthermore, he took 292 wickets in Tests and 273 wickets in One Day Internationals. Brett Lee and Kallis played together for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. Kallis was also part of the team that won the title in 2012 under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir.

Sachin Tendulkar played for India for 24 years. He is the batsman who has scored the highest number of runs in both Test and One Day formats. Brett Lee had the opportunity to play many memorable matches against both players, Sachin and Kallis. In Tests, Sachin scored 15,921 runs, and in One Day Internationals, 18,426 runs.

During the conversation, Brett Lee also highly praised Virat Kohli. Recalling Virat's early years, he noted that he saw a special fire and challenge in young Kohli. Commenting on critics who question Virat's current form, Brett Lee advised them not to pay attention to rumors. He emphasized that if Virat does not score runs in a match, people start talking about the end of his era, but this, according to him, is nonsense. He urged people to look at his record, which he believes is unprecedented, and noted that there is still much cricket left in Kohli.

Before the start of the two-match test series between India and Sri Lanka, which begins on August 15, the Indian team will play a three-day friendly match against the local side Eleven on Friday, August 7. This match will take place at the Non-Descript Cricket Club (NCC) ground in Colombo and is considered extremely important for the Indian players as it will give them an opportunity to finalize their preparation for the conditions in Lanka and playing against spin bowling.

Prior to this match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) published a video in which Gautam Gambhir emphasized the need for complete readiness for everything ahead of the Test matches starting on August 15. In this video, Gambhir welcomed Saransh Jain and Akib Nabi to the squad. He highlighted Nabi's outstanding performance, which contributed to the Jammu and Kashmir team winning the Ranji championship.

Furthermore, Gambhir greeted the new field coach Shubdeep Ghosh, addressing him as 'Joy'. He mentioned that Ghosh has experience working with various teams. In the video, he urged the players to be ready to answer any question, regardless of whether the team attacks or defends in the first Test on August 15, and strongly recommended working on all necessary aspects during training.

Recent home games against South Africa and New Zealand showed that Indian batsmen faced significant difficulties against spin bowling. Therefore, this practice match against Sri Lanka's experienced spin attack will be a serious test for the Indian team. Captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have already been practicing against spin bowling at their training centers before traveling to Sri Lanka, but playing on Lankan pitches presents a completely different challenge.

Only three players in the current squad have experience participating in Test matches in Sri Lanka: KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav. India last held a Test series in Sri Lanka in 2017. Jasprit Bumrah is not participating in this tour due to injury, so Mohammed Siraj will take responsibility for fast bowling. He will be accompanied by Prasidh Krishna, Gunnor Barar, Manav Chatur, and Saransh Jain. Excluding Siraj and Kuldeep, the rest of the attacking unit is relatively inexperienced.

Earlier, Gunnor Barar and Saransh Jain demonstrated impressive performances for the India A team against Sri Lanka A in Galle last month and hope to maintain their form in this practice match. However, the weather might hinder the preparation of the Indian team. According to the meteorological department's forecast, short rains are expected in Colombo from Friday, which could affect the three-day practice match.