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Devdutt Padikkal has admitted his stunning century against the Rajasthan Royals was "something special". The Royal Challengers Bangalore youngster opened up on his record-breaking opening partnership with Virat Kohli, while also expressing his satisfaction at moving away from the sticky Chennai wicket.
Devdutt Padikkal became just the fourth uncapped player in IPL history to register a ton, with his stupendous 52-ball 101* helping RCB beat RR by 10 wickets. The 20-year-old put together an unbeaten 181-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli -RCB’s highest opening partnership in the IPL.
Devdutt Padikkal caught up with Harshal Patel after the game, where the latter asked the opener to run him through the innings.
“To be honest, it was something special. Playing with Virat as well, we were just enjoying ourselves. Once we got into that rhythm of complimenting each other, we were just breezing past. Every ball it felt like we could hit a boundary. When you have that kind of feeling together it just makes it special. Coming to Mumbai, the bounce and pace is much better,” claimed Padikkal.
Devdutt Padikkal looked in sublime touch from the moment he came out to bat, donning the aggressor’s role on Thursday night. Padikkal carted the RR bowlers to all parts of the ground, slamming six fours and three sixes.
IPL 2021’s only unbeaten side will play another game in Mumbai before jetting off to Ahmedabad. After the RCB openers brilliantly backed up their bowlers, Devdutt Padikkal is keen to depart Mumbai on a high.
“Today was the perfect match we could have played. It is important that we continue to keep the momentum going. So, we have to make sure we finish off the Mumbai leg very well in the next game,” appealed Padikkal.
“Margin of error on this wicket is so little” - Harshal Patel
The RCB started brilliantly with the ball and a strong showing in the powerplay overs left RR reeling at 43/4 at one stage. Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, and Riyan Parag steadied the ship as RR put up 177 runs on the board.
Death-over specialist Harshal Patel had a rare off-day with the ball, as he conceded 47 in his four overs. But the bowler was happy to learn from the Mumbai track, as he praised Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli for their outstanding batting efforts.
“The margin of error on this wicket is so little. Even if you miss by an inch the ball is going to fly away. That helped us tighten up our areas of concern. I personally bowled a few bad balls in the innings. But we can learn from this game and take it into the next. We knew 177 was never going to be enough on this track. The way you guys started the chase and finished it was impeccable,” Patel said.
Despite going for runs on Thursday, Harshal Patel still managed to pick up three wickets on the night. It meant the RCB bowler retained his Purple Cap and he was happy to contribute despite not being at his best.
“It feels great. Even though I went for a few runs today, picking up wickets always sort of makes you feel a little better about it. My focus has always been picking up wickets at the death because it is always difficult for the new batters to come and start hitting from ball one. That’s all I am trying to do and most of my plans were executed today barring a few deliveries here and there,” Patel told Devdutt Padikkal.
RCB will come up against CSK in their next encounter, in what will arguably be their toughest encounter yet. Both sides are in the midst of impressive winning streaks and will take on each other on April 25.
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