# Devdutt Padikkal scores second century of Sri Lanka series 2026-08-23T14:47:19+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Devdutt Padikkal scored his second century of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, hitting 117 runs off 193 balls with 12 boundaries, as India reached 300 for 5 on the opening day of the second Test in Colombo. Shubman Gill contributed 50 after winning the toss and opting to bat. Asitha Fernando took three wickets for Sri Lanka, including Yashasvi Jaiswal for 45 and Ravindra Jadeja for 43. Dhruv Jurel was unbeaten on 7 and debutant Saransh Jain on 4 at stumps. Padikkal has now amassed 328 runs in the series. Odishatv.in reports he surpassed Stephen Fleming's record of 307 runs for the most by a visiting No. 3 batter in a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, and also beat Rahul Dravid's tally of 321 runs for the highest aggregate by an Indian in a two-Test away series. He became the seventh Indian to score multiple centuries in an overseas Test series against Sri Lanka. The Economic Times reports that Sri Lanka missed two early chances, dropping Padikkal at point and at slip, which could have changed the match. M9.news, which framed the performance around Padikkal's Karnataka roots, asked whether he is the long-term answer at number three for India. Rishabh Pant retired hurt after being struck on the forearm. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Odishatv.in and The Economic Times both report the day's events in a straight news style, though The Economic Times highlights the two Sri Lankan dropped catches as a potential turning point. M9.news, by contrast, leads with a speculative question about India's batting order and uses a dramatic headline, consistent with its sensationalist framing. The middle-ground reading: Padikkal's consistency is notable, but two Tests against a weakened Sri Lankan attack are not conclusive proof of his long-term suitability. The key number to watch is 328: his series aggregate and how it compares to India's all-time away records for a No. 3 batter. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist - odishatv.in (neutral report) Leads with records broken, no editorialising - m9.news (sensationalist) Leads with 'Karnataka Star Boy', ends with speculative question - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Wire-style report, highlights dropped chances This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-23T15:30:48+00:00. Tags: Devdutt Padikkal, India, Shubman Gill, Sri Lanka Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/devdutt-padikkal-hits-second-test-century-in-sri-lanka/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/devdutt-padikkal-hits-second-test-century-in-sri-lanka/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/