Team India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak praised Devdutt Padikkal for working on his back-foot game and overall shot selection after he smashed a stunning maiden international century. Padikkal’s unbeaten 131 led India to a satisfying score of 288 for two on Day 1 against Sri Lanka in the first Test as well. Kotak shared the details on the youngster’s preparation for the ongoing Test series as well.

“I am so happy for him because he was actually waiting for his opportunity. The way he played here and in the warm-up match, it’s really encouraging,” Kotak said in the post-day press conference. “Preparation, I would say, overall the way Devdutt, was preparing and I saw it in the NCA (BCCI CoE)…he was working on his back foot game. We try that when we expect a turn from a pitch. We also tried to work on step-out, sweep besides the back foot game. So, a lot of credit goes to him, the way he has prepared himself for the last couple of years,” he added.

However, Devdutt Padikkal was batting predominantly from the back foot and stepped out to Sri Lankan spinners as well. His six off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, stepping out and hitting over long-on, was worth watching. Similarly, Padikkal scored nearly 40 runs from sweeps in his innings as well.

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“I think Devdutt batted really well. So Sai also has been batting really well at that number. But the thing is they all are new ball batsmen. So they open, they go number three, so, we are very flexible. But I would look at the way they bat, how they are adapting to conditions, how they are dealing with the different stages of a match, and that is very important for me rather than number three or four or five,” he further added.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s spin and fielding coach Jordan Gregory also applauded Padikkal and KL Rahul for taking the game to Sri Lanka.

“I think firstly, credit to Padikkal. I think that he batted superbly today and so did KL. Unfortunate for him to get injured,” said Gregory.

He was also happy to see debutant off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha holding his own against Indian batters as well.

“It’s very encouraging to see that Kesh on his debut had asked a lot of questions and created a lot of opportunities. So credit to him. I could imagine there may have been a couple of nerves from his side. But I’m very proud of him and the way he bowled on his debut,” he concluded.