Devdutt Padikkal is hell bent on establishing himself as one of the biggest white-ball players from India, and in India. After a phenomenal run in the Vijay Hazare Trohpy where he amassed over 700 runs, his fine form spilt over to IPL 2026 as well as he sizzled with a 61-run knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener at the M Chinnaswam Stadium on Thursday. DDP was retained by the defending champions despite being ruled out early in the previous season due to an injury. And RCB’s call has paid off huge time!
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Padikkal goes all guns blazing in IPL 2026 opener
Coming out to bat at number 3, Padikkal raced to his half-century off just 21 deliveries, striking maximums and boundaries at will. Such was the impact that he created, that the partnership between Kohli and him crossed the 100-run mark within 45 deliveries before the southpaw was finally dismissed. Padikkal’s blitzkreig in the IPL 2026 opener proves precisley why he is better off as RCB’s number 3 instead of Rs 7 crore buy Venkatesh Iyer.
In the 26 balls that DDP faced, he hammered 7 fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of 234.62. His 101-run partnership with Kohli put RCB at a position where they weren’t burdened by the required run-rate in the run-chase of 202 runs in Bengaluru. Iyer, who was one of the most expensive buys in the IPL 2025 auction, had a miserable season last year following which he was released by KKR. While he has been picked by RCB, Padikkal’s whirlwind knock in the opening game will keep Venky out of the playing XI for quite some time, although he has been picked up by the side for Rs 7 cr.
Padikkal’s IPL 2025 campaign was cut short due to a hamstring injury, which forced RCB to replace him with Mayank Agarwal. Unfortunately, the Karnataka star couldn’t be a part of the title-winning side. However, that did not stop Devdutt from bouncing back strongly – especially in the domestic circuit.
He scored 309 runs from 6 matches in the Syed Mushtaq ali Trophy 2025 at an average of 61.80. The Karnataka batter, who boasts of a phenomenal record when it comes to List A cricket, delivered yet another phenomenal season as he registered 725 runs in 9 matches, averaging 90.62 and struck four 100s and 2 fifties. DDP was then named Karnataka captain in the second phase of Ranji Trophy where he led the team to the final but unfortunately could not clinch the title as the team lost to Jammu and Kashmir.
RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first in the IPL 2026 opener against SRH on Saturday. At one stage, debutant Jacob Duffy had reduced SRH to only 29/3. But from there on Ishan Kishan scored 80 from 38, and then Aniket Verma chipped in with 43, as SRH reached 201. While RCB lost Salt early on in the innings, it was Padikkal who revived the innings for the hosts with some glorious strikes along with Kohli.
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