IPL 2021: Focus was on win, not 100, says Devdutt Padikkal | Cricket News – Times of India

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In the first two matches, Devdutt Padikkal scored 11 and 25, struggling with timing on both occasions. But on Thursday night against Rajasthan Royals, his timing was near-flawless as he became only the third uncapped Indian player after Manish Pandey (RCB; 2009) and Paul Valthaty (KXIP; 2011) to score a century (101*).

RCB opener is the third uncapped Indian cricketer to score a century
In the first two matches, Devdutt Padikkal scored 11 and 25, struggling with timing on both occasions. But on Thursday night against Rajasthan Royals, his timing was near-flawless as he became only the third uncapped Indian player after Manish Pandey (RCB; 2009) and Paul Valthaty (KXIP; 2011) to score a century (101*).
The Covid-19 setback notwithstanding, the 20-year-old came into the IPL on the back of some power-hitting in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he amassed 737 runs in seven matches. The southpaw, who has drawn flak for his strike rate in the past, looked in sublime touch as his 52-ball 101 came at a blazing rate of 194.23.
The opener’s solid effort wasn’t just punctuated by lovely drives. The strokes were deft, the wrist was used handsomely, especially when he flicked the ball down the leg side.
He credited the strike rate to the conditions and reiterated that he hadn’t done anything different to improve his form, specially in the middle overs.
“It’s about the situation of the game. I always have a particular role to play and I have to do that as well as possible. Sometimes it can get challenging in the middle overs and it’s not easy to hit boundaries all the time,” he said after his team’s 10-wicket whitewash of Rajasthan Royals.
Skipper Virat Kohli too defended Padikkal’s strike rate and said, “He batted really well for his first season last time around. There has been some talk about him accelerating after getting 30 and 40. This is exactly how you put things to rest.”
While a maiden century in any format is special, Padikkal said his focus was on winning the match and not the magic numbers. “I was looking to finish the game off, that’s what mattered the most. I wasn’t really thinking about my 100. I just wanted us to win the game and that is what I told Virat as well. I asked him to go for it because for me, the win was more important,” said Padikkal.
OUTSTANDING INNINGS, SAYS KOHLI
The skipper had a fitting reply to his rookie partner. “It was an outstanding innings…. We spoke about it (the 100). He told me to finish it off, I told him to get to it (the century) first. He said many will come. I said: ‘yeah, you can say that after you get to the landmark’. He deserved to get the three-figure mark,” revealed Kohli during the postmatch presentation. Padikkal, who missed the season opener against Mumbai Indians after contracting the virus, said, “It was a big challenge to come out of Covid-19. During that phase, all I was thinking of was to play the first match. I couldn’t do that but was keen to contribute to the team’s win.”
Padikkal also came in for high praise from Kumar Sangakkara, RR’s director of cricket. “I thought it was an exceptional innings. He played the shots that he knew he could and he kind of anticipated some of the deliveries that were going to be bowled with the field set. I thought he showed a lot of maturity to bat through,” said the Sri Lankan stalwart.

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