Royal Challengers Bangalore opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal once again showed why he could just be the biggest find of the IPL 2020 season for Indian cricket, as he scored an elegant half-century in his team’s final league match against Delhi Capitals in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Padikkal scored 50 runs in the match, which turned out to be the highest score by an RCB batsman in the innings. This was the fifth time that Padikkal had scored a half-century this season, more than captain Virat Kohli and star batsman AB de Villiers.
IPL 2020 - DC vs RCB Live Score
Only KL Rahul has more scores of fifty or more under his name this season, having scored five half-centuries and also a century. Padikkal at the end of his 14th innings in the league has 472 runs under his belt at an average of 33.71 and strike rate of 126.54.
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This puts the left-handed opener in elite company as he now has the third-highest runs for an uncapped player in a single IPL season. Australian Shaun Marsh leads the list as he had scored 616 runs in just 11 matches in the maiden IPL season in 2008 for Kings XI Punjab. Marsh, who would later go on to represent the Australian team in all formats had till then not made his international debut and was thus considered an uncapped player.
{{/usCountry}}This puts the left-handed opener in elite company as he now has the third-highest runs for an uncapped player in a single IPL season. Australian Shaun Marsh leads the list as he had scored 616 runs in just 11 matches in the maiden IPL season in 2008 for Kings XI Punjab. Marsh, who would later go on to represent the Australian team in all formats had till then not made his international debut and was thus considered an uncapped player.
{{/usCountry}}Second on the list is a player who continues to be a force in IPL. Mumbai Indians number 3 Suryakumar Yadav scored 512 runs in the 2018 season and has since not looked back.
What is impressive is that Padikkal has achieved this in his debut IPL season with just one season of domestic season behind his back. He has definitely outshone both Kohli and De Villiers with the bat this season and that is no mean feat.
Whether or not he can go ahead and add to his tally will depend on whether RCB make it through to the play-offs.