IPL 2021: “Wasn’t thinking about my hundred, asked Virat to go for it” - Devdutt Padikkal

Young Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opener Devdutt Padikkal has said that he wasn’t thinking about his century as RCB approached victory against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday. He added that he even told his captain Virat Kohli to go for his shots, as the team's win was more important.

Devdutt Padikkal smashed an unbeaten 101 off only 52 balls in Mumbai as RCB bludgeoned RR by ten wickets to stay unbeaten after four games this season. Set to chase a challenging 178 for victory, RCB romped home with a whopping 21 balls to spare.

At the end of the 14th over, Devdutt Padikkal was batting on 90, but RCB needed only 19 runs to win. At a virtual press conference following the team’s emphatic victory, Padikkal said that he was not thinking about personal milestones while batting in the middle. He said in this regard:

“I was just looking to finish the game off; that’s what mattered the most. We wanted to get the win as early as possible. When I was out there, I wasn’t really thinking about my hundred. We wanted to make sure that we won the game. That’s what I told Virat (Kohli) as well. I asked him to go for it because, for me, it was more important that we won the game.”

A match-winning CENTURY from @devdpd07 as #RCB win by 10 wickets.Scorecard - https://t.co/ZB2JNOhWcL #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/sOIDIbRLch

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 22, 2021

Wanted to bat for as long as possible: Devdutt Padikkal

In the chase of 178, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli got RCB off to a rollicking start as they went from strength to strength. They ended up adding 181 runs, which is now the highest opening partnership for RCB in the tournament.

Asked to shed some light on his stupendous partnership with his captain, Devdutt Padikkal said that the pair's aim was just to bat on and on. He said in this regard:

“We were really complementing each other well during the powerplay and throughout the innings. We were rotating the strike well, and that was very important throughout the innings. As we went on, we got better and better, and we started striking the ball cleaner. We were just trying to make sure we batted as long as possible and took the team home.”

The student and the master at work. Fabulous viewing. These Southpaws make it look easy - @devdpd07 @imVkohli @RCBTweets #RCBvsRR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/2HsQKN7nXZ

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) April 22, 2021

With their win on Thursday, RCB maintained their unbeaten start in IPL 2021. Kohli’s men are the only team to have won all their games in the tournament this season.