Considered a future star of India, Devdutt Padikkal made an impressive IPL debut with a scintillating fifty, but the young Kerala hitter says he was nervous when his spot in the XI game was confirmed.
Showing a variety of shots and confidence to hit the ball hard and clean, the 20-year-old scored 56 of 42 balls to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post 163 of 5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RCB vs SRH – Highlights
“I was very nervous hearing the news of my debut. But when I got to hitting, I calmed down after playing a few balls, ”Padikkal told Chahal during a post-game interaction.
Padikkal said he has learned a lot from RCB and India’s boss Virat Kohli.
“The last month we practiced, I learned a lot from Virat bhaiya. I kept asking him questions every time I was around him. Even today when I was playing with Finch, he showed a lot of confidence in me, ”he said.
Chasing 164, SRH was 121 out of two before Yuzvendra Chahal triggered a collapse with his twin strike on successive balls as they were all out for 153 in 19.4 overs.
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Speaking about the 16th over (his last over) that changed the complexion of the game, Chahal said he was looking to throw a line of attack with a defensive field.
“It was a major change. I was thinking that it could go for races and it could also be in favor of our team. My way of thinking was choosing terrains even though we established a defensive field. But the talk with Virat bhaiya was about the bowling attack line because only the terrains can change the game, ”said Chahal.
“I left the first ball on the stump of my leg, because it was difficult to hit. When Vijay Shankar arrived, AB and Virat told us to googly bowling, something I was practicing on the nets. We knew that if he landed properly it would be difficult for a new hitter to read. ”Chahal said he was nervous about playing after a long time due to the COVID-19 breakout.
“I was a little nervous, but I backed off. The ball was wet from dew on the field. But I have trained hard on the nets to play with wet balls. “
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