Opener Devdutt Padikkal on Saturday (October 3) scripted Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) 8-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) with a fantastic knock of 45-ball 63 and his brilliance on the field.
Chasing 155 to win, Padikkal added 99 runs for the second wicket with skipper Virat Kohli as RCB overhauled the target with five balls to spare.
It was his third fifty in four IPL 2020 games and the southpaw now has 174 runs to his name this season.
After the game, RCB head coach Simon Katich showered rich praise on Padikkal, saying he has a 'big future' in front of him and the journey has started in the 13th edition of Indian Premier League.
"In terms of preparation, we did play a practice match at 2 pm a few weeks ago just to acclimatize but until we get out there it is never easy. I thought he (Padikkal) was magnificent in the field today probably more important than anything. The catch he took to get rid of Jos Buttler was magnificent. He did some very good work in the field. He is a very talented young player, he has a big future in front of him and we are seeing a start of it in this IPL," Katich said at the post-match press conference.
According to Katich, the wicket was on a slower side in Abu Dhabi as compared to Dubai and it did not assist spinners much.
"Wicket played pretty well today. Probably looked on the little bit lower sie compared to Dubai but in terms of we played and runs we scored I think most of the batsmen felt like it was just a little bit slower than Dubai. There was not much spin and still played well in the second innings," the RCB coach said.
When asked if the day game prompted them to come up with a different game plan, Katich replied, "I do not think it change the game plan too much, the biggest challenge was obviously how we adapted physically because spending 20 overs in that head can have an effect on the batsmen. We saw that in our innings...."
RCB are currently at the top in the points table with three wins from four games and Katich said it will be hard to change the winning combination of the side.
"He [Chris Morris] has to prove his fitness still, he is getting close. He had another good bowling session today and I think he is feeling more and more comfortable with that. He is tracking very well, he has done a little bit of fielding and batting the other night in Dubai. We are hoping that he might be too far away but at the same time, it is hard to change the winning team as well. We want this team a hard team to break in so we have to wait up once Chris is fully fit," he concluded.
RCB will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in their next game in Dubai on October 5.
(With ANI inputs)
