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Indian batter KL Rahul expressed happiness at state-mate Devdutt Padikkal's maiden Test ton, reflecting on their bonding since the left-hander was coming through the ranks in U19 cricket and expressing confidence that he will reach into a zone where he will be more consistent with bigger knocks for Team India.
Padikkal, playing at number three in the absence of an injured Sai Sudharsan, took a giant leap in securing his spot in the Test side with a well-paced 167 in 230 balls against Sri Lanka at Galle, with his game against spin being the defining feature of his knock. Speaking in a video by BCCI, Padikkal said, "Obviously, coming from the same state, Dev is somebody that, you know, I have seen come through the ranks from under-19s and, you know, scored tonnes and tonnes of runs for Karnataka and made his way up to Indian cricket." "In the last couple of years, he has been waiting for his opportunity and quietly toiling in the nets and trying to get better at some aspects of his batting. We have had a lot of chats over the last couple of years that he is been with the team about what needs to get better or what to expect in Sri Lanka, what to expect in the Test matches to come." "And, you know, he's one of those players who's come here before, scored some runs in India A as well. So, just getting used to the condition. He scored 100 in the warm-up game as well. So, he's been amongst runs. He is someone who loves batting and scoring big runs and really happy that he could get the first 100," he continued. KL, who had scored his first international ton in the second Test of his career against Australia away from home, said that it is really great and special for Padikkal to get his maiden ton in his third Test. "It is very important to get that early in your career so you can get that out of the way and then start enjoying your cricket and start enjoying your batting and take your batting to the next level," he said. "And I think he's at a stage where he understands his batting really well and he's scoring lots of runs. So, I think he will make that move into, you know, scoring bigger knocks for India and being more consistent," he signed off. (ANI)
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