Padikkal's second straight away hundred puts him in elite India company

Devdutt Padikkal's 117 in Colombo means the 26-year-old has now scored hundreds in consecutive away Tests, following his 167 in Galle. He becomes the first India No. 3 since Cheteshwar Pujara in 2018-19 to achieve the feat — a milestone that caps a remarkable rise for the left-hander in unfamiliar territory at the top of the Indian batting order.

The knock did not come without fortune. Padikkal was dropped on 0 and 1 — off Lahiru Kumara and Keshara Nuwantha respectively — but he made Sri Lanka pay with a composed, increasingly fluent innings that carried India's innings after the early dismissals of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

His hundred, raised with a single off Prabath Jayasuriya, was the cornerstone of India's 300 for 5 at stumps. Padikkal's partnership with Shubman Gill (50) was worth 120 for the third wicket, and his 74-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja (43) kept India in command before Keshara Nuwantha's flat, sharply turning delivery ended his stay late in the day.