Devdutt Padikkal has been named Player of the Series after finishing with 328 runs at an average of over 109 in India’s 1-0 Test series victory over Sri Lanka.
The opener struck two centuries in the series, with a top score of 167, having stepped into the side after Sai Sudharsan was ruled out through injury.
“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,” Padikkal said after the award.
He added that he hoped to “take the confidence I have got from this forward” into the rest of his career, having answered questions about his ability to handle spin on turning tracks.
India secured the series with a 165-run win in the opening Test at Galle, before the second Test in Colombo ended in a draw after Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha scored twin centuries.
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.
“When you come to Sri Lanka, you always expect that spin challenge, and I was personally looking forward to the same, making sure I was prepared really well leading up to the series,” Padikkal said.
“Now I am happy I was able to tackle spin well, to the best of my ability, and I hope I continue to work on it and get better at it,” he added.
India won the series 1-0 after taking the first Test in Galle by 165 runs, before Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha batted the hosts to an epic draw in the second Test at Colombo with an unbeaten 133.
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.
Photo by Lionel Allorge, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (representative cricket image)
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