Devdutt Padikkal handed Sri Lanka a painful lesson on the follies of putting down a form batter, clattering to a second consecutive century to thrust India to the driver’s seat in the second Test.

Coming off efforts of 167 and 44 in Galle, Padikkal was dropped second ball, on nought, at point by Sonal Dinusha, and then on one by skipper Dhananjaya de Silva at slip. Making the most of his luck, the strapping No. 3 produced a composed 117 on a challenging strip at the SSC ground, driving the visitors to 300-5 on Sunday’s Day One.