Devdutt Padikkal celebrates after scoring his maiden Test century at Galle. com in Galle: Quick single, a punch in the air followed by a jubilant jump before unleashing another punch.

The helmet came off in a flash, and his arms spread wide to acknowledge the applause from the dressing room and the spectators braving the heat on the grass banks. It was a memorable moment for Devdutt Padikkal, who notched up his maiden Test hundred, and it couldn't have come at a better time, both for him and the country.

Playing a Test for the country after 632 days, he walked into bat after a moment of chaos between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who were involved in a terrible mix-up, but took the mantle seamlessly from the opener. Devdutt got off the mark with a boundary, danced down the track to launch Prabath Jayasuriya for a maximum early in the innings and showcased excellent footwork against both spin and pace.

There wasn't much happening off the surface in the first session, but the odd delivery did surprise the batters, mostly because of the drift caused by the crosswinds. Off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha, introduced in the ninth over on his debut, got one to drift in and hold its line after pitching, but the bounce saved Devdutt, who wore a look of disbelief.

No one expected that kind of assistance from the surface that early in the contest, and the remainder of the day showed that what happened in the 13th over was an anomaly. Except for the occasional delivery with more drift than usual, there wasn't much turn on offer, and Devdutt remained very busy and breezy in his approach, outscoring his senior partner, Rahul, with ease.

Like the spinners, pacers Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando also found little assistance. The two had their moments, but their effort wasn't consistent enough to challenge the visitors in the beautiful batting conditions.

After the first rain break, Asitha bowled a testing spell to both Rahul and Devdutt, but both were seasoned enough to navigate the period, when moisture might have seeped into the surface because of the strong shower, and then feasted on some ordinary bowling. Devdutt Padikkal plays a shot on Day 1 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Galle.

(BCCI | X) While Rahul was happy to switch to blockathon mode, Devdutt kept the board moving at a fair clip. The Karnataka batters, who spend a lot of time off the field bonding over their mutual love for coffee, complemented each other really well.