Devdutt Padikkal etched his name into Indian cricket history on August 15 by becoming the first batter from the country ever to score a Test century on Independence Day. Reaching the three-figure mark during the third session of Day 1 against Sri Lanka in Galle, the Karnataka batsman transformed an ordinary opening day of the two-match series into a historic personal milestone.
Devdutt Padikkal becomes first Indian to hit century on Independence Day
Beyond the Independence Day landmark, Padikkal’s brilliant innings as India’s number three also placed him in rare statistical company. He became only the second Indian left-hander in the 21st century—following in the footsteps of former captain Sourav Ganguly—to register a Test hundred from the number three position. In doing so, Padikkal joined an illustrious, highly exclusive circle of left-handed predecessors who have anchored India's top order with a Test ton, alongside icons such as Salim Durani, Bapu Nadkarni, Ajit Wadekar, Eknath Solkar, and Surinder Amarnath.
Padikkal runs riot with bat in Galle Test
Devdutt Padikkal’s milestone in Galle carries immense weight for an Indian Test side that has spent years searching for a dependable number-three batter. Before Padikkal’s brilliant innings, Shubman Gill was the last Indian to notch a Test ton at one-down during the Chennai Test against Bangladesh in September 2024. Across the 19 Tests that followed, India rotated through seven different players in that critical slot, yielding a dismal collective average of just 27.28 over 35 innings with a mere five half-centuries to show for it. Padikkal’s composure finally offers a long-awaited solution to the team's top-order volatility.
By reaching three figures on foreign soil, Padikkal also locked himself into a remarkably exclusive club of Indian cricket. Over the past three decades, only a elite group of top-order stalwarts—Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane—have managed to score a Test century at number three away from home. Padikkal now stands alongside these legends as the newest member of an iconic modern lineage.
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This historic century in Galle is the culmination of a sensational run of domestic form that made Padikkal's selection for the Sri Lanka tour undeniable. Coming off a stellar 2025–26 Ranji Trophy season highlighted by a monumental 232 against Uttarakhand and an unbeaten 120 in Mohali against Punjab, the left-hander carried that momentum seamlessly into national colors. After recording back-to-back fifties for India A against Sri Lanka A and tuning up with an undefeated 142 in the Colombo warm-up fixture, Padikkal translated his red-hot form into a landmark Test performance.