Stepping in for the injured Sai Sudharsan, Padikkal rescued India from a shaky 0/1 start, showcasing masterclass strokeplay against both pace and spin. When a toe injury ruled Sai Sudharsan out of India’s warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo, an unscripted vacancy emerged at the top of the order. 3 slot for the Test opener in Galle. The left-hander struck 18 boundaries across his 121-ball stay, dominating the bowling attack before retiring out to allow India's middle order batting time. Dominating Pace and SpinPadikkal was seen in complete command against Sri Lanka’s frontline attack across all phases of his innings.