Devdutt Padikkal Becomes First Indian Left-Hander Since Sourav Ganguly to Slam Test Ton at No. 3

Galle, August 15: Devdutt Padikkal's unbeaten 131 against Sri Lanka has given India's search for a dependable No. 3 a significant boost, but the innings has also placed the Karnataka left-hander in an exclusive chapter of Indian Test history.

Padikkal became only the second Indian left-handed batter to score a Test century from No. 3 in the 21st century, joining Sourav Ganguly. More significantly, he achieved the feat away from home, scoring his maiden Test hundred on a spin-friendly Galle surface in the opening Test against Sri Lanka.

The innings came in Padikkal's first Test appearance in Sri Lanka after he replaced the injured Sai Sudharsan in India's playing XI. He reached his century from 134 balls and was unbeaten on 131 at the close of

the opening day.

Sourav Ganguly Was The First

The precedent Padikkal has now matched was established by Ganguly almost exactly three decades earlier.

On June 20, 1996, the Bengal cricketer made his Test debut against England at Lord's in London. Batting at No. 3, he scored 131 off 301 balls, with 20 fours, in his first Test innings. It remains one of the most celebrated debut performances by an Indian batter.

Ganguly followed that with another century in the same series. At Trent Bridge, Nottingham, in the third Test beginning on July 4, 1996, he scored 136, again batting at No. 3.

Padikkal's Century Has A Wider Statistical Context

India have produced a remarkable succession of No. 3 batters, from Ajit Wadekar and Mohinder Amarnath to Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. But overseas hundreds from the position have been considerably harder to come by.

Batting great Rahul Dravid remains the overwhelming benchmark. He scored 10,501 Test runs at No. 3, including 28 centuries, and his record outside India was particularly impressive.

In the post-Dravid era, Cheteshwar Pujara subsequently carried the position for India, scoring more than 6,500 runs and 18 centuries at No. 3.

Padikkal's Galle hundred now gives the next generation its first major overseas statement at the position.

Indian Batters With Test Centuries At No. 3 Away From Home

The list, spanning several generations of Indian Test cricket, includes some of the country's most accomplished top-order batters.

Player	Runs	Opposition	Venue	Year
Vijay Manjrekar	118	West Indies	Kingston, Jamaica	1953
Ajit Wadekar	143	New Zealand	Wellington	1968
Surinder Amarnath	124	New Zealand	Auckland	1976
Mohinder Amarnath	100	Australia	Perth	1977
Mohinder Amarnath	109*	Pakistan	Lahore	1982
Mohinder Amarnath	120	Pakistan	Lahore	1983
Mohinder Amarnath	103*	Pakistan	Karachi	1983
Mohinder Amarnath	117	West Indies	Port of Spain	1983
Mohinder Amarnath	116	West Indies	Antigua	1983
Mohinder Amarnath	101*	Pakistan	Lahore	1984
Mohinder Amarnath	116*	Sri Lanka	Kandy	1985
Mohinder Amarnath	138	Australia	Sydney	1986
Dilip Vengsarkar	103	England	Lord's	1979
Dilip Vengsarkar	157	England	Lord's	1982
Dilip Vengsarkar	126*	England	Lord's	1986
Dilip Vengsarkar	102*	England	Headingley	1986
Vinod Kambli	125	Sri Lanka	Colombo (SSC)	1993
Vinod Kambli	120	Sri Lanka	Colombo (PSS)	1993
Sourav Ganguly	131	England	Lord's	1996
Sourav Ganguly	136	England	Nottingham	1996
Rahul Dravid	148	South Africa	Johannesburg	1997
Rahul Dravid	190	New Zealand	Hamilton	1999
Rahul Dravid	103*	New Zealand	Hamilton	1999
Rahul Dravid	107	Sri Lanka	Colombo	2001
Rahul Dravid	115	England	Nottingham	2002
Rahul Dravid	148	England	Leeds	2002
Rahul Dravid	217	England	The Oval	2002
Rahul Dravid	233	Australia	Adelaide	2003
Rahul Dravid	270	Pakistan	Rawalpindi	2004
Rahul Dravid	103	Pakistan	Faisalabad	2004
Rahul Dravid	146	West Indies	Gros Islet	2006
Rahul Dravid	160	Bangladesh	Chattogram	2007
Rahul Dravid	129	Bangladesh	Mirpur	2010
Rahul Dravid	112	West Indies	Kingston	2011
Rahul Dravid	103*	England	Lord's	2011
Rahul Dravid	117	England	Nottingham	2011
Rahul Dravid	146*	England	The Oval	2011
VVS Laxman	100	West Indies	St Kitts	2006
VVS Laxman	109	Australia	Sydney	2008
Cheteshwar Pujara	153	South Africa	Johannesburg	2013
Cheteshwar Pujara	153	Sri Lanka	Galle	2017
Cheteshwar Pujara	133	Sri Lanka	Colombo	2017
Cheteshwar Pujara	123	Australia	Adelaide	2018
Cheteshwar Pujara	106	Australia	Melbourne	2018
Cheteshwar Pujara	193	Australia	Sydney	2019
Cheteshwar Pujara	132*	England	Southampton	2021
Cheteshwar Pujara	102*	Bangladesh	Chattogram	2022
Ajinkya Rahane	126	Sri Lanka	Colombo (P Sara Oval)	2015
Devdutt Padikkal	131*	Sri Lanka	Galle	2026

The individual century records for Dravid show that he scored overseas hundreds at No. 3 in South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the West Indies.

Pujara's century record similarly confirms his eight away hundreds at No. 3, including 153 at Johannesburg, 153 at Galle, 133 at Colombo, 132* at Southampton and his three Australian hundreds in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

Rahane's 126 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in August 2015 is another particularly notable entry because it came while he batted at No. 3, rather than his more familiar No. 5 position.

Padikkal's name now sits alongside those players, although it would be premature to draw comparisons with their careers after one Test century. What makes his Galle innings particularly interesting is the circumstances.

He was not an established No. 3 walking into a settled batting order. He was given the opportunity because of Sudharsan's injury, having first strengthened his case with an unbeaten 142 in the practice match.