For a youngster full of promise and talent, a Covid-induced break from sport would have been an exasperating period. Few understand this predicament better than
Devdutt Padikkal
. The young
Royal Challengers Bangalore
opener, who contracted the virus in the last week of March, missed the season opener but warmed up well through two matches before announcing his comeback on Thursday night.
The 21-year-old southpaw, put up a stirring exhibition of form, flair and stroke play en route to an unconquered 52-ball 101 (11x4; 6x6), his maiden IPL century coming only in his second season. Padikkal and skipper
Virat Kohli destroyed the
Rajasthan Royals bowling attack en route to a thumping 10-wicket victory.
BLOG | SCORECARD | POINTS TABLEAfter restricting Rajasthan to 177/9,
RCB
overhauled the target with 21 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The win, fourth on the trot, put the Bengaluru franchise on top of the table.
Kohli (72 n.o; 47b; 6x4; 3x6), who enjoyed the best seat in the house as the youngster batted, did not want to be left behind and joined the party with great enthusiasm.
Padikkal was switched on from ball one and Kohli was content playing second fiddle to his partner. In the second over, bowled by Chetan Sakariya, Padikkal used his wrist well to find the gap through mid-wicket to begin a flurry of boundaries. With the ball coming on to the bat well, Padikkal made his innings look effortless.
If he employed the sweep shots to despatch Shreyas Gopal to the boundary, he went on the front foot in search of maximums, which came in plenty. He raised his fifty with a four off Riyan Parag and continued with his sublime touch.
Earlier, two boundaries on the trot by
Jos Buttler in Mohammed Siraj's opening over gave Rajasthan some hope of a top-order revival as he and fellow opener
Manan Vohra had failed in consecutive matches. But just when it looked like they would get going it turned out to be all bluff and bluster.
Invited to bat by Kohli, Rajasthan batsmen crumbled before Shivam Dube (46, 32b, 5x4, 2x6), Riyan Parag (25) and Rahul Tewatia (40, 23b, 4x4, 2x6) came up with rescue acts. Struggling at 18/3 in the fifth over, the Rajasthan middle and lower order rose to the occasion to put up a respectable 177/9.
Siraj (3/27), didn't get much swing, but stuck to varying the length and sending down yorkers. He was well-supported later in the innings by Harshal Patel (3/47). After losing early wickets, the onus was on
Sanju Samson (21) to restore parity and he started with the right intent. After dispatching a
Washington Sundar for a maximum, he fell in the next delivery, sending it to
Glenn Maxwell at short mid-wicket.
Fourth win on the trot
Dube, whose previous high score in IPL was 27 for RCB, took the fight to his former team, piling a 66-run stand for the fifth wicket with Parag
After the departure of the duo, Tewatia took over and pushed the run rate up further.