Mumbai: Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli had nothing but encouraging words for his fellow teammate Devdutt Padikkal, and lauded the young opener for his outstanding innings against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
Padikkal, who smashed his maiden IPL century against the Royals played a crucial role in RCB’s win. Opening the batting, Padikkal scored a magnificent 101 not out off 52 deliveries to help his side to thrash their opponents by 10 wickets. Padikkal and Kohli stitched an unbeaten 181-run partnership to lead RCB chase down the target without losing a wicket.
“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,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“He is a great talent, great one to look forward to in the future. I had the best seat in the house. 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,” Kohli added.
Praising their unbeaten partnership, Kohli revealed that the 20-year-old was more interested in keeping RCB’s unbeaten run intact, rather than sealing his century. He even asked Kohli to finish off the match and not think about his maiden IPL hundred. The captain also gave his verdict — “Get to it (hundred) first.”
