Mumbai, April 22: Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden hundred in the Indian Premier League as Royal Challengers Bangalore sealed a thumping 10-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals in Match 16 of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday (April 22).
Padikkal smashed 101 off 52 balls and stitched together a record stand with skipper Virat Kohli as RCB overwhelmed RR's target of 178 with 21 balls to spare. Kohli, who became the first player to reach 6000 runs during the match, scored 72 off 47 balls.
Earlier, put into bat, Shivam Dube and Rahul Tewatia played knocks of 46 and 40 runs respectively to steer RR to 177/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Sanju Samson (21 off 18 balls) and Riyan Parag (25 off 16 balls) were also among the runs.
IPL 2021: Virat Kohli becomes first player to score 6000 runs in Indian Premier League
For RCB, Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel bagged three wickets each, while Kyle Jameison, Kane Richardson and Washington Sundar claimed one wicket each.
The losing skipper Samson lauded RCB openers for their batting performance and also added his team did well to get that score after early wickets.
"They (RCB) batted really well. We did well to get that score on the board after the early wickets. We need to go back and do some homework. We need to be honest with ourselves and come back better," Samson told the host broadcaster after the match.
"Need time to look into what went wrong and understand, I am sure we will comeback well. This game... It puts you down but you need to find a way and come out better."
The winning skipper Kohli, on the other hand, was full of praise for his opening partner, who he felt deserved the 100.
"Me and Dev spoke about his 100. He told me to finish it off, I told him to get to it first. He said many will come, I said yea you can say that after you get to the landmark. He deserved to get the three-figure mark," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
"It was an outstanding innings. He batted really well for his first season last time. There was a lot of talk about him not accelerating after getting to 30s. He's put all that to rest. It was a good pitch to bat on to be honest, and him being tall meant that bowlers struggled with their lengths.
"T20 cricket is always about partnership cricket. You can't always go big from the word go. When one guy is going well, it's important for me to ensure that I don't lose my wicket. It can change on other days."
Meanwhile, man of the match Padikkal said it was special and he couldn't wait for his turn to contribute for the team's cause.
"It's been special. I could only wait my turn. When I was down with COVID, all I was thinking of was to come here and play the first match here. I couldn't do that but was keen to contribute to the team's win," Padikkal said.
The Karnataka batsman then explained how the wicket played and about his record partnership with skipper Kohli.
"The wicket was coming on really well and we got a good start. When you get into a partnership like that, it helps as runs come from both ends. (Whether he was worried about the 100) Not really, that's what I was telling Virat to go for it.
"For me it's not about getting to a hundred, I wouldn't mind missing out on hundreds as long as I contribute to team's wins. Throughout the innings there were times when he was going better and then I was going better. Rotation of strike is important. We just clicked well." Padikkal added.
Here are highlights of RCB vs RR 2021 post match presentation:
Man of the match: Devdutt Padikkal
Vivo perfect catch: Glenn Maxwell (RCB) - Catch to dismiss Shivam Dube (RR)
Safari Super Striker: Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) - 101 off 52 balls
Dream11 game changer: Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) - 101 off 52 balls
Unacademy Sixes Award: Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) - 6 sixes
CRED Power player: Mohammed Siraj (RCB) - 3 for 27
UPSTOX Most Valuable Asset: Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) - 101 off 52 balls