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Devdutt Padikkal continued his dream run in his maiden IPL season with another splendid knock for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, against the Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 3, 2020.
Padikkal stroked a sparkling 63 from 45 balls, inclusive of a six and six fours, to propel RCB to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory.
The left-hander opener's shot selection has been quite impressive as he doesn't attack every delivery when in full flow and waits for the right delivery and the right moment.
Against the Royals, it was Padikkal at his attacking best as he got going with a six over square leg off Jaydev Unadkat in the second over and then pulled the same bowler over midwicket for a four.
Padikkal helped RCB recover after the early dismissal of fellow opener Aaron Finch, who fell for eight, in the third over.
His positive approach gave Virat Kohli the cushion and confidence to take his time to get settled as the RCB captain came into the game after a rare run of three successive failures.
Pacer Tom Curran also suffered at Padikkal's hands when he was hit for a couple of boundaries in his first over with RCB racing to 50/1 in six overs, to make most of the Powerplay overs.
The 20 year old brought his half-century in the 12th over with a four off Unadkat, the third time he went past the 50-run mark in four innings in his first-ever IPL.
When he perished in the 16th over, RCB were firmly on course for victory and Kohli made sure he guided the team with an unbeaten fifty.
'I's a different feeling (batting with Kohli), I have watched him so much since I have been small. So, to bat with him is an unreal feeling and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. He just kept pushing me,' Padikkal said after the game.
'I was getting tired a little bit, I was cramping up, he just kept pushing me to finish the innings. He kept telling me that I have to play till the end and see the team through.'
'That's how he bats and that's what he was trying to convey to me as well.'