Having watched Devdutt Padikkal rise through the ranks in the Karnataka set-up, India vice-captain KL Rahul expressed immense pride at the young left-handed batter hitting his 167 – his maiden Test century coming against Sri Lanka, something which he called ‘very special’. Batting at number three, Padikkal’s magnificent knock was laced with 15 fours and a six, as India made 460/9 in 116 overs at the end of day two’s play. “Very special – obviously coming from the same state, Dev is somebody that I’ve seen come through the ranks from under-19s and scored runs for Karnataka and make his way up to Indian cricket.
Having watched Devdutt Padikkal rise through the ranks in the Karnataka set-up, India vice-captain KL Rahul expressed immense pride at the young left-handed batter hitting his maiden Test century.
So just getting used to the condition, he scored 100 in the warm-up game as well. Turning to his own solid contribution of 82, Rahul outlined the technical adjustments and background preparation required to tackle spin on Sri Lankan pitches. Because at the end of the day when you perform as a team that’s when we can win series outside of India and also in India to win Test matches and to win Test, series you need to play together as a team – so it’s important that we help each other out, “It’s.
Rahul revealed that regular interactions with Padikkal also helped the left-hander prepare for the specific demands of Test cricket in the subcontinent.
“In the last couple of years he’s been waiting for his opportunity and quietly toiling in the nets and trying to get better at some aspects of his batting,” Rahul said in a video posted on bcci.tv. on Monday. “We’ve had a lot of chats over the last couple of years that he’s been with the team as to what needs to get better or what to expect in Sri Lanka, what to expect in the Test matches to come and he’s one of those players who’s come here before, scored some runs in India A as well. “When you’re scoring a place like Sri Lanka, where spin is going to play a very big role, you need to get your game plans right, you need to tighten up some technical aspects of your game and also understand what areas of the ground you can score in. “So I did that and I’m really happy with how I could play in the first innings. There are a few more innings to go in this series, so I think it will only get harder and harder from here on. So it’s important to keep your head down and keep trusting the game plan,” he added. “When I’ve been part of this dressing room before as well for so many years, it’s always been a place where everyone’s trying to learn from each other, everyone’s trying to help each other out and we try and work together on the areas that we all need to get better at as a team.
