Padikkal's innings the defining part of the Galle Test - KL Rahul

The recent upheavals in Indian cricket have left KL Rahul as the team's most senior batter. The Galle Test was his 69th, and he happens to be the only one among the batters on this touring party to have played on these shores before. A lot of knowledge exchange in the batting group has happened through the course of this tour that began 11 days before the Test, and culminated in a resounding win. A win where the batter on the other end of the experience spectrum has stood out. Breaking down Devdutt Padikkal's stupendous century, Rahul rightly put it on a pedastal.

"I think that innings was for me the defining part of this Test match. The way he batted, the tempo that he batted with and to go on and get a big 100 in the first innings really set up the game for us," Rahul said.

India have had trouble zeroing in on a long-term occupant for such a critical position, complicated by Sai Sudharsan's latest injury. It gave Padikkal a shot and he didn't miss.

The Galle surface was kind but the heat was severe. Padikkal still batted for 230 deliveries. Rahul himself was in the middle for 175, but he struggled with severe cramps that forced him to retire hurt. He knew how harsh the weather was and saw how well his Karnataka teammate tamed it.

"The conditions were really hot and it was challenging physically as well. So for him to get through that and firstly to get his first 100 is a special moment but to go on from there and get a big 100 and stitch partnerships with different players and get a big first innings total really set up this Test match," Rahul said.

For Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten, Padikkal's 167 was education. "Dev Padikkal played one of the better Test match innings that I've seen. He didn't play too aggressively, but just played within himself and just batted for a long period. And it was a good lesson for any Test match batsman on how to map out a big hundred," Kirsten said.

Padikkal's latest Test opportunity came after nearly a two-year gap. But walking into Galle, he felt more at home in the format and the conditions than any other batter across the two teams. Rahul put his unwavering step at this level down to the exceptional A team structure that has benefitted many Indian cricketers. Even before he stepped onto the field in Galle, Padikkal was already a Ranji trophy mainstay for Karnataka but it is opportunities with the A side that have truly set newcomers like him - and Manav Suthar, apart.

"I think a lot of credit goes to how our first class set up is done and how some of these guys are in the India A structure for the last few years. The teams are touring to countries that we're going to play in a couple of months before. So Devdutt was here a month or six weeks before the Test series and played a couple of games there and then we played a practice game here so (he) got used to those conditions," Rahul opined.

Devdutt Padikkal and Manav Suthar were the star performers in India's win in the Galle Test © AFP

Less than a month since winning IPL 2026, Padikkal was in Galle to turn out for India A. He featured in two unofficial Tests, coming away with scores of 12 & 67 in the first and a 94. In both the knocks where he batted time, there was fluency that he carried into the Test for India. Between those Galle appearances and the one for the senior side, Padikkal also featured in a warm-up match against SLC XI in Colombo where he scored 164-ball 142 - a fitting pre-cursor to his big maiden Test hundred.

"Once you put players in those positions and give them the exposure and the experience that they need at that level, I feel like that really helps them understand what they need to do when they come into the national team and they're better prepared and give themselves a better chance to do well at this level.

"It's not like you play Ranji Trophy cricket and go straight into an Indian team and a Test match in a couple of months time. That difference is huge, the standard from there to here is a big jump so then sometimes the players are found wanting and they need to figure their game at the international level," Rahul opined.

A team experiences act as the perfect bridge for the players like Padikkal who are hoping to cross over to the highest level. Besides the feel of putting bat to a red ball, negotiating the vagaries of conditions below and above, it also makes them acutely aware of the expectations they'll be up against when they eventually walk into the seniors' dressing room.

"When there is already so much pressure, it becomes hard sometimes. But because of the way Indian cricket is structured and first-class cricket is structured - they go from Ranji trophy to playing a lot of India A games. They have toured Australia, Sri Lanka, England all of these places so it helps them get better at their game and understand their game and by the time they have got their Test cap, they are well aware of their own game and the expectations of playing at international cricket," Rahul said.

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