Devdutt Padikkal wins Player of the Series in India’s win over Sri Lanka

Devdutt Padikkal has been named Player of the Series following India’s 1-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka, having scored 328 runs at an average of over 109.

The opener struck two centuries during the tour, including a top score of 167, after being called up to replace the injured Sai Sudharsan at the top of the order.

“It feels great,” Padikkal said of the award. “Coming into the series, once I knew I was going to get that opportunity, I was looking forward to it, that this was my chance to really prove something.”

He said he hoped to carry the confidence from the series forward, adding that tackling Sri Lanka’s spin attack had been a specific focus of his preparation.

India won the opening Test at Galle by 165 runs, while the second Test in Colombo ended in a draw after Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha scored twin centuries.

Dinusha, who scored a century in each innings of the second Test, was named Player of the Match for his efforts, even as Padikkal’s series-long consistency saw him take the overall series honour.

India’s failure to close out the second Test meant the side missed out on a share of crucial World Test Championship points that a series sweep would have brought.

Padikkal’s 167 came in India’s first innings of the series and remains his highest Test score to date, underlining the scale of his breakthrough on the tour.

The left-hander’s performance has strengthened his case for a settled opening role in India’s Test line-up heading into the team’s upcoming home season.

Padikkal stepped into the side as a replacement for injured opener Sai Sudharsan, and made the most of the opportunity across the two-Test series.

He carried strong domestic form into the tour, including a 232-run knock in the Ranji Trophy semifinal earlier in the year, which had already marked him out as in-form ahead of the Sri Lanka assignment.

Photo by Lionel Allorge, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (representative cricket image)