Devdutt Padikkal once again rescued India on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka, scoring 117 as India reached 300/5 at stumps in Colombo.
After early wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, Padikkal steadied the innings and built a 120-run partnership with Shubman Gill. Gill scored a fifty before falling, but Padikkal continued to anchor the innings and brought up his second consecutive Test century of the series.
He was eventually dismissed for 117 from 193 balls, having struck 12 fours. His knock came after his impressive 167 in the first Test in Galle, making it two major scores in successive matches.
India did face a few setbacks. Rishabh Pant retired hurt after being struck on the left forearm by a Lahiru Kumara delivery, although batting coach Sitanshu Kotak later confirmed he would be fit to bat on Day 2. Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed for 43 in the final over, leaving Dhruv Jurel unbeaten on 7 and debutant Saransh Jain on 4.
Sri Lanka finished the day with some encouragement as the pitch began offering more assistance to the spinners, while Asitha Fernando was the pick of their bowlers with 3/46.
With India at 300/5, the visitors remain in a strong position, but the first session on Day 2 could be crucial. India will want to add a substantial number of runs before Sri Lanka's bowlers can exploit the increasing turn.
The bigger story, though, is Padikkal: two centuries in his first two Tests of the series have transformed him from a promising option at No. 3 into someone making a serious claim for the position.
