Devdutt Padikkal latest Indian to shine on Test debut with a sparkling half-century in Dharmsala

Devdutt Padikkal on Friday became the latest Indian to shine on debut in the ongoing Test series against England after bringing up his half-century in style on Test debut in Dharamsala.

Padikkal, who was handed his maiden cap from Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday after the hosts included him in the XI in place of the injured Rajat Patidar, smashed Shoaib Bashir for a six to bring up the milestone in 83 deliveries.

It was a sparkling knock from the young left-handed batter who had played just two T20Is for India before the Dharamsala Test and hadn’t made much of an impact at the international level until Friday.

The Kerala-born Karnataka batter, who has been traded to Lucknow Super Giants from Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, came in at a time when India had lost two set batters in Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in quick succession and England were starting to mount a fightback.

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Padikkal barely showed the kind of nerves a debutant would normally have when making his/her first appearance in the most elite of all formats against one of the world’s top teams. While partner Sarfaraz Khan took his time to get settled at the crease, Padikkal ensured England did not put them under too much pressure by launching a counter-attack with some exquisite shot-making that once again helped the Indian team regain control of the proceedings.

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Padikkal would collect a couple of boundaries off Tom Hartley’s bowling in the very next over after smashing Bashir for a six to bring up the milestone. He was eventually dismissed by off-spinner Bashir, who himself had made his Test debut in this series, getting bowled for 65 off 103 balls in which he collected 10 fours besides the solitary six as India lost their fifth wicket with 403 on the board.

One of the key takeaways for the Indian team in the marquee five-Test series for the Anthony D’Mello Trophy has been the unearthing of a number of gems. As many as five Indians made their debut in the series — Patidar in Visakhapatnam, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in Rajkot and Akash Deep in Ranchi.

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Sarfaraz scored a half-century in each innings on debut, smashing 62 and an unbeaten 68, and would collect a third half-century in the ongoing series on Friday. Jurel would collect a patient 46 in the same match, but would make match-defining contributions of 90 and 39 not out in the fourth Test in Ranchi, playing a central role in the hosts’ series-clinching five-wicket victory.