Devdutt Padikkal Scores Back-to-Back Test Centuries in Colombo on Day One

Devdutt Padikkal scored 117 runs off 193 balls on Sunday, August 23, 2026, during day one of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo. The left-handed No. 3 batter brought up his second consecutive Test century — following 167 in Galle — and became only the sixth Indian to post back-to-back hundreds in Sri Lanka.

Editor’s note: This article draws on match reporting from Sportstar (The Hindu), India Today, News18, and LatestLY, August 23, 2026.

Innings at a glance

Detail	Information
Match	India vs Sri Lanka — 2nd Test (WTC series decider)
Date	Sunday, August 23, 2026 (day one)
Venue	Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo
Padikkal’s score	117 (193 balls, 10 fours)
Previous Test	167 in Galle (August 15, 2026)
Hundred reached	Off 168 balls in the third session
Dismissal	Cleaned up by spinner Keshara Nuwantha
India at stumps	281/3 after Padikkal’s departure

How Padikkal built his Colombo hundred

India won the toss and elected to bat on a surface captain Shubman Gill described as harder and more batting-friendly than Galle. Sri Lanka struck twice early: KL Rahul fell for 18 to Lahiru Kumara, and Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for 45 by Asitha Fernando.

Padikkal walked in at No. 3 in the 11th over with India at 43/2. He added 29 runs with Jaiswal, then anchored a 120-run partnership with Gill before the captain fell for 50. A further 21 runs came alongside Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja joined him in the 58th over as India pushed past 250.

Padikkal reached three figures off 168 deliveries, striking 10 fours along the way. In the third session, India stood at 259/3 after 70 overs, with Padikkal unbeaten on 100 and Jadeja on 30. He eventually fell to Nuwantha after a composed knock that stretched across nearly 200 balls.

From Galle to Colombo: back-to-back hundreds

Padikkal’s Colombo century followed his maiden Test hundred in the series opener at Galle International Stadium from August 15–19, 2026, where he scored 167 on India’s Independence Day. That innings ended a two-year wait for an Indian Test century at No. 3 and helped India win by 165 runs.

In less than a week, Padikkal repeated the feat on Sri Lankan soil. His back-to-back hundreds are the first by an India No. 3 in consecutive away Tests since Cheteshwar Pujara, who hit 106 and 193 in Melbourne and Sydney respectively during the 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Test	Venue	Score	Date
1st Test	Galle	167	August 15, 2026
2nd Test	Colombo (SSC)	117	August 23, 2026

Padikkal, who turned 26 on July 7, 2026, is also the second left-handed Indian batter in the 21st century to score a Test century from No. 3. His form on this tour traces back to strong India A outings in Sri Lanka earlier in August, including a 142 in a warm-up match against an SLC XI in Colombo.

Sixth Indian with consecutive Sri Lanka Test centuries

By scoring hundreds in both Tests of this series, Padikkal joined a select group of Indian batters who have posted centuries in back-to-back Tests in Sri Lanka:

Player	Scores	Venues	Year
Vinod Kambli	125, 120	Colombo	1993
Sachin Tendulkar	143, 139	Colombo	1997
Mohammad Azharuddin	126, 108*	Colombo	1997
Shikhar Dhawan	134, 190	Galle	2017
Cheteshwar Pujara	145*, 153 / 133	Colombo, Galle	2015–17
Devdutt Padikkal	167, 117	Galle, Colombo	2026

The list underscores how rare sustained run-scoring in Sri Lankan conditions is — and how quickly Padikkal has established himself at a position India had struggled to fill since Sai Sudharsan’s injury opened the No. 3 slot.

India’s day-one position in the WTC decider

This two-Test series doubles as the World Test Championship (WTC) final-qualifier decider between the top two teams in the standings. India lead Sri Lanka after the Galle win and, with 281/3 on the board after Padikkal’s dismissal on day one, looked firmly in control of the second fixture.

Gill passed 3,000 career Test runs on the same day, but Padikkal’s innings provided the structural backbone: two long partnerships with the captain and a patient approach on a surface that rewarded discipline over aggression. KL Rahul, who praised Padikkal’s Galle hundred as the “defining part” of that Test, watched from the pavilion as the Karnataka left-hander repeated the act in Colombo.

Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten had called Padikkal’s Galle innings “one of the better Test match innings” he had seen. On day one in Colombo, the batter showed the same mapping of a big hundred — batting within himself, absorbing pressure after early wickets, and converting a commanding position into a substantial first-innings lead.

What comes next

Padikkal’s twin hundreds on this tour answer questions about India’s No. 3 identity in the longest format. With the WTC cycle hanging on this series result, his consistency at the top of the order gives India a platform to chase a decisive victory in Colombo — and a berth in the WTC final.

Whether Sri Lanka can fight back on day two depends partly on how quickly they dismantle the remaining Indian batters. For Padikkal, the immediate task is done: two Tests, two centuries, and a place on an elite list that includes Tendulkar and Pujara.

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Discussion

Padikkal’s Colombo hundred is less about flash than foundation — the kind of innings that wins series deciders when the top order wobbles early.

1. Padikkal has now scored back-to-back Test hundreds in Sri Lanka at No. 3. Does this settle India’s longest-running batting puzzle, or will selectors still rotate the slot when Sai Sudharsan returns?

His Galle and Colombo knocks came on different surfaces and against a Sri Lanka attack that had already seen him once — persistence, not a one-off.

2. Only five Indians before Padikkal managed consecutive Test centuries in Sri Lanka. Is his tour a breakout, or the payoff from years of Ranji Trophy and India A cricket that finally met a Test window?

He scored 142 in a Colombo warm-up and 67 and 94 in unofficial Tests before Galle — the numbers were building before the caps arrived.

Share whether you see Padikkal as India’s long-term No. 3 or a tour-specific solution that reshaped this WTC decider.

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