Devdutt Padikkal made 199 off 248 balls for India A against New Zealand A in Lincoln, falling one run short of a double century. He hit 24 fours and three sixes. Then he was given out caught behind off Zak Gibson in a controversial call.
The innings turned the first unofficial Test around. India A began their second innings 204 runs behind and lost both openers with 10 on the board. By stumps on day three they were 488 for 8, a lead of 284.
It comes two months after his back-to-back Test hundreds in Sri Lanka, and three weeks before the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington on November 19. Padikkal is in that squad.
The scorecard shows 199. It does not show what a No. 3 has to let go of between two innings to make it.
KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal were gone with India A on 10 for 2. Soon after Padikkal walked in, he edged Kristian Clarke, and Rhys Mariu dropped it at second slip. He was 56 not out at stumps on day two.
On day three, he and Sai Sudharsan took their stand to 215. Sudharsan made 91 off 184 balls. After Padikkal fell, Yash Rathod (66) and Washington Sundar (51 not out) kept the lead growing.
Gibson pitched the ball on the leg side and Padikkal tried to glance it. It appeared to miss the bat and brush his pad before reaching wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay. New Zealand A appealed, and the umpire raised his finger after a pause.
DRS is not used in this unofficial Test series, so there was no review. Padikkal shook his head, gestured at the gap between bat and ball, and walked off as Rathod tapped him on the shoulder.
🚨 HEARTBREAK AT 199! 💔🤯
Devdutt Padikkal furious after a controversial umpiring decision ended his double-century dream just ONE run short! 😭💔
#DevduttPadikkal #Cricket
https://t.co/V8JDkqmjwl— CricketIndian_🇮🇳 (@CricketIndian_) October 26, 2026
Two days earlier, the same attack had beaten him fairly. Simon Keene took 5 for 24 on a green surface, and Padikkal reached 32 before falling to the first ball he faced after lunch. It was a loose shot off Gibson, and India A were 56 for 5. They were all out for 113.
Insider Read
After a first-innings failure, the problem is memory, not technique. You walk out the second time with the last ball you played still in your head. On a seaming New Zealand pitch, a No. 3 decides before he leaves the dressing room which balls he will not touch. Then he sticks to it for the first 30 deliveries, even when the bowler offers the same ball that got him out.
That loose shot on day one was a choice, not a flaw. The fix is a smaller menu of shots until the new ball softens and the bowlers have used their best spells. Big second-innings runs in New Zealand rarely come from looking good early. They come from accepting that you will look ugly early. Wellington will test exactly that.
The No. 3 Question Before Wellington
Padikkal only got No. 3 in Sri Lanka because Sudharsan was ruled out with a toe injury. In Lincoln, both made big runs in the same second innings, and both could be competing for the No. 3 spot in the Tests.
| Batter | 1st innings | 2nd innings |
|---|---|---|
| Devdutt Padikkal | 32 | 199 |
| Sai Sudharsan | 0 | 91 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 17 | 5 |
| KL Rahul | 0 | 4 |
Rahul and Jaiswal, India’s Test openers, made 26 runs between them across four innings. The match ends on Tuesday. The second unofficial Test starts at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on October 31.
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