Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have begun their IPL title defence in commanding fashion, registering back-to-back victories against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
While RCB chased down SRH’s formidable target of 202 with six wickets and 26 balls to spare, they defeated CSK by 43 runs after posting a gigantic total of 250/3 on the board.
Following their win over CSK at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (April 5), RCB batter Devdutt Padikkal revealed the franchise’s new batting mantra focuses on preserving wickets early to unleash a late-innings assault.
The southpaw emphasized that the change in approach stems from addressing past batting frailties.
“Even last season we had a couple of games early on where we struggled and ended up losing maybe three or four wickets and then it put us on the back foot,” Padikkal said in the post-match presser.
“We had a conversation midway through last year that we needed to make sure that when the wicket is behaving in such a way, you have to ensure you have wickets in hand. Once the ball gets older, it becomes much easier to bat on,” he added.
“We had to make sure we are not three or four down by the 10-over mark. Once we were able to do that, we could go hard at every ball. The way the entire unit has been batting since then has been incredible,” he noted.
Padikkal, who has recorded scores of 61 (26 balls) and 50 (29 balls) in the first two games, acknowledged the support staff's role in his mental and technical shift.
“It’s a lot of hard work and self-belief. It wasn’t easy to make that change because I had to alter the foundation of the kind of cricket I wanted to play growing up. The change was something I had to make consciously, and RCB’s support staff have been brilliant in guiding me in the right way,” he stated.
The left-hander also discussed the shifting dynamics of T20 cricket, highlighting the current dominance of power-hitting as a natural progression of the sport.
“Batting has gone to another level. Everyone is working hard to hit big sixes and fours. It’s now on the bowlers to raise their game as well,” he said.
Padikkal was effusive in praise of teammate Tim David, who took the CSK bowling attack to the cleaners with his blistering knock of 70 in just 25 balls.
“We see him do this every day in practice. He’s very clear about which bowler to target and when. That clarity makes a huge difference,” Padikkal said.
(With TOI Inputs)
