Devdutt Padikkal’s princely century leaves Rajasthan Royals in tatters

Devdutt Padikkal waltzed to an excellent hundred to make Royal Challengers Bangalore’s win a stroll within the park. Such was his dominance that Virat Kohli, his opening associate, was blissful to play second fiddle. Together they placed on 181 runs in an unbroken opening stand, as Bangalore received with 21 balls to spare. Four on the spin now.
From 43/4 within the eighth over, Rajasthan Royals recovered to put up 177/9. Pretty first rate, however not adequate on a batting-friendly Wankhede pitch and in opposition to Bangalore’s batting would possibly. Mohammed Siraj (3/27) bowled a improbable spell upfront to melt up Royals’ top-order. Sanju Samson made issues worse for his staff by but once more throwing his wicket away.
Padikkal excels
The left-hander had enhanced his fame in final 12 months’s IPL. This 12 months, throughout the two matches he performed on Chepauk pitches, Padikkal had struggled for timing. On a floor the place the ball got here properly on to the bat, the southpaw discovered his rhythm.
He minimize Chris Morris over level for a 4. He gorgeously drove a Mustafizur Rahman supply over long-off for a six. When the spinners got here, Padikkal neutralised them with the lightness of contact. Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia seemed clueless in opposition to such high-quality batting. Shreyas Gopal was as soon as reversed-pulled to the third man boundary. Royals bowling surrendered to Padikkal’s ‘dancing feet and flashing blade’.

The pupil and the grasp at work. Fabulous viewing. These Southpaws make it look straightforward – @devdpd07 @imVkohli @RCBTweets #RCBvsRR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/2HsQKN7nXZ
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) April 22, 2021
Fifty got here off 27 balls, by way of a 4 off Parag. The hundred was reached off 51 deliveries, by way of a glowing cowl drive off Mustafizur. He remained unbeaten on 101.
All the whereas, Kohli eschewed his ego and allowed the teen to play the lead. Towards the back-end of the innings, the Bangalore captain shifted gears and galloped to a 47-ball 72 not out, finishing 6,000 IPL runs within the course of. But the night time belonged to Padikkal.
Siraj sizzles, Samson fizzles
Earlier, Siraj bowled a improbable first spell to place Royals below strain. He stored Jos Buttler guessing with the variations in angle.
The Royals opener walked into the off aspect to attain a boundary. But when he moved into the leg aspect to make room for an inside-out cowl drive, Siraj adopted him and breached his defence. The yorker that dismissed David Miller would have gotten nearly any left-hander out.

Sanju Samson’s IPL profession:
🔹 111 video games🔹 28.13 common🔹 Three centuries, 13 half-centuries
A 50-plus rating for each 6.9 innings.
Would you say he has underperformed within the event?#IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/dWGGBJBzXN
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) April 22, 2021
With wickets falling on the different finish, the onus was on Samson to take the innings ahead. The Royals captain hit a luxurious six over deep mid-wicket off Washington Sundar after which chipped the subsequent supply straight to Glenn Maxwell at brief mid-wicket.
This has now turn out to be type of routine, from the T20Is in opposition to Australia in Sydney final 12 months to this 12 months’s IPL. Samson hasn’t been doing justice to his expertise. Shivam Dube, Parag and Tewatia contributed to provide Royals’ complete respectability. But on the night time, they seemed paupers in opposition to Bangalore’s princely present.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 177 for 9 in 20 ovs (Shivam Dube 46, 32b, 5×4, 2×6; Rahul Tewatia 40, 23b, 4×4, 2×6; Mohammed Siraj 3/27, 16 dots) misplaced to Royal Challengers Bangalore 181 for no loss in 16.3 ovs (Devdutt Padikkal 101*, 52b, 11×4, 6×6; Virat Kohli 72* 47b, 6×4, 3×6).