Suryaa Sports Desk: Young Indian batsman Devdutt Padikkal narrowly misses out on a rare milestone in the first unofficial Test match against New Zealand. Young Indian batsman Devdutt Padikkal narrowly missed out on a rare milestone in the first unofficial Test match against New Zealand. Padikkal, who was on the verge of a double century with a brilliant batting, was forced out by the umpire's decision at a personal score of 199, just one run away. Padikkal expressed his displeasure when the umpire declared him out on the bowling of Jack Gibson, stating that the ball did not hit his bat. The incident, which reached the pavilion in frustration as DRS facility was not available in the scheduled match, became a hot topic of discussion in the sports circles. Devdat Padikkal, who continued to bat on the third day of the match, played an excellent innings, facing the opposing bowlers effectively. In this sequence, he faced 248 balls and scored 199 runs with 24 fours and 3 sixes and rushed towards his double century.
But in the 89th over of the innings, when Padikkal tried to flick the ball bowled by New Zealand bowler Jack Gibson, the ball hit the pad and went into the hands of the wicketkeeper. After considering the fielders' appeal, umpire Brad Wilson deemed it a catch and declared him out. Padikkal was shocked and protested the umpire's decision as he thought the ball did not touch the bat. In official international matches, however, the decision could be overturned by review. But as it was an unofficial test match, there was no DRS facility. Due to this, Padikkal had to leave the field in deep disappointment. It was one of Padikkal's best innings in first-class cricket for India.
Earlier, Padikkal played a key role in pulling the team out of tough times by forming a key partnership with Sai Sudarshan. With this innings, Padikkal successfully reached the milestone of 1000 runs for India in first-class cricket. Although the team failed in the first innings, the Indian team managed to reach a strong position in the second innings due to Padikkal's responsible performance. Even though he missed the golden opportunity of making a double century by one run, his fighting style is widely appreciated. Also Read: Harmanpreet's century.. Indian women's team clinched the series with a solid win over Zimbabwe