India, Aug. 8 -- Three deliveries into their innings, India had already lost Yashasvi Jaiswal. At 0/1, with the new ball moving and a Test place potentially at stake, this was not the time for Devdutt Padikkal to advertise his strokeplay. It was the moment to show India why he might belong at No.3.

By the time he had left the field, unbeaten on 142 from 164 balls, Padikkal had done something more useful than make a hundred in a warm-up - he had shown how his game can evolve within an innings. This was, by all means, an audition gone well.

Padikkal's innings against Sri Lanka Cricket XI came in two phases. The first was about control. With KL Rahul alongside him, Padikkal absorbed the early movement, rotated the strike and resisted the t...