Devdutt Paddikal scored a half-century during his debut on the 2nd day of the 5th Test match played at HPCA Stadium, Dharmshala on 8th March 2024. The stylish left-handed batter was included in the playing XI as Rajat Patidar was injured during the practice session. Paddikal came to the crease after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma very early after the lunch break.
He looked edgy against disciplined England bowling and hit some lucky boundaries that kept him going. Soon after, Shubman Gill was bowled by James Anderson with a beauty. Paddikal then showed intent putting pressure on the England bowlers hitting them for boundaries. Sarfaraz Khan took the charge with beautiful strokes putting them under immense pressure. India went into the tea break in a commanding position.
Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed off the very delivery after the tea break. Paddikal looked impressive completing a half-century off 83 deliveries. England captain Stokes took the second new ball as Paddikal showed brilliant skills against the spinners. It was a superb batting effort as he was brilliantly bowled by Bashir for 65. Paddikal made 65 off 103 balls with 10 fours and 1 six.
Paddikal made the batting look after the early hiccups and made sure that India looked in a commanding position putting England’s bowlers under pressure. He played some lovely shots against James Anderson and Mark Wood and also showed his class against Bashir and Hartley keeping scoreboard ticking.
Devdutt Paddikal’s performance in domestic cricket
Paddikal was included in the Indian team for the Test series against England after impressive performances in 4-day matches with the England Lions at Ahmedabad.
Paddikal had a dream season for Karnataka in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy. He was named in the squad for the remaining three test matches at Rajkot, Ranchi. Patidar could not perform according to expectations in Ranchi and Rajkot.
The stylish left-handed batter Paddikal played 4 matches (6 innings) and scored 556 runs with 3 centuries including the best score of 193. Paddikal helped Karanakta win a few group matches in the Ranji Trophy before he could not play a part in the squad.
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