Winning healthful reward from pundits and followers after developing with a elegant hand in his debut inning within the ongoing fifth Test in opposition to England, Devdutt Padikkal on Friday revealed the golden phrase of recommendation he acquired from head coach Rahul Dravid after he acquired his India cap from veteran Ravi Ashwin on Day 1. The elegant southpaw, who managed to translate his type for Karnataka this Ranji season into runs in his debut Test, mentioned the phrases of encouragement he acquired from coach Dravid after incomes his India Test cap helped him to assemble a neat and nerveless debut fifty on Day 2 of the Dharamshala Test.
Making an impression along with his composed manner, mixed with the lazy magnificence of a southpaw, Padikkal stroked a high quality 65 off 103 deliveries, an innings studded with 10 4 and a six.

Showing no nerves on the crease and rising in confidence with each single he ran and each boundary he stroked, Padikkal raised a 97-run stand with Sarfaraz Khan, steadying the hosts after skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill fell in fast succession within the post-Lunch session.

Revealing how Dravid phrases helped him struggle off nerves and play with freedom in his debut Test, Padikkal, in a pitchside interview after the top of the day’s play on the HPCA stadium on Day 2, mentioned, “Rahul Sir mentioned: ‘in the first 10-15 minutes you will have nerves, but go out and enjoy it’. Those words definitely helped me. I felt we could have batted a bit better, could have carried on a bit better in the last session.”

During his keep on the crease, the lanky Karnataka batter creamed some pleasing boundaries in between some fortunate edges, settling nerves within the dressing room after the autumn of two fast wickets.

“I just wanted to be ready (talking about the debut blues), I got the message the previous day that there is a possibility that I could play. These opportunities are rare to come and I was ready and prepared for this challenge. I was a bit nervous going in, but I wanted to make sure that I wanted to use that energy in a positive way. It was a bit challenging at the beginning (when I walked out to bat), but I wanted to put my head down and build a partnership with Sarfaraz,” Padikkal added.
“At the start, I was a bit tentative (while batting) to get going, but once I got my eye in it got much easier. There was a bit of reverse and those are two (Anderson and Stokes) top-quality bowlers you are facing. It was challenging, but I wanted to get used to the wicket. It was challenging the last couple of years, because of my health issues (had problems with his gut health) which are well-documented, so when you are sitting at home and not doing anything, it surely wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but I wanted to make the most of the opportunity whenever it comes. It’s always great to have familiar faces (while on debut), especially,” the debutant mentioned.
On receiving his Test cap from a teammate, who has been a veteran of many battles and is enjoying his a hundredth Test at Dharamshala, Padikkal mentioned, “It’s a special feeling (getting his debut Test cap) no matter what the circumstances, to live in that dream is something special.”
After ruling the roost within the first two classes of play on Day 2, the hosts ceded floor within the session after Tea because it suffered a late-order collapse to be lowered to 428/8.
After skipper Rohit and Shubhman bossed the guests within the opening session and after Lunch, each mentioning high quality centuries within the course of, England made a comeback of types largely on the again of a four-wicket haul by Somerset off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who discovered considerable buy from the floor within the final session.
However, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah steadied the ship thereafter for the hosts, as they put up an unbeaten 45-run stand to make sure India did not lose any additional wickets by the shut of play.