Top News

IPL 2026: Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar showered praise on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Devdutt Padikkal for his match-winning fifty against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 34th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Although Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match for his 81-run knock off 44 balls at a strike rate of 184.09 during the run chase, Padikkal’s heroics did not go unnoticed. The 25-year-old scored 55 runs from 27 balls at a strike rate of 203.70, hitting two fours and six sixes.

Speaking on JioStar, Sunil Gavaskar lauded Padikkal for playing an “excellent innings” and highlighted how Kohli himself praised the youngster for his clean cricketing shots. Gavaskar noted that Padikkal, who was once seen as primarily an off-side player, has now overcome his limitations on the on-side.

“Devdutt Padikkal played an excellent innings. Virat Kohli rightly pointed out after the match that Padikkal has been hitting some very clean cricketing shots. Earlier, he was seen as an off-side player. His main scoring areas were cover and mid-off. He used to struggle on the on-side. But now he has overcome that limitation. He is hitting sixes and boundaries behind square as well. This adds to RCB’s batting strength. They have Devdutt at number three and Captain Rajat Patidar at number four. Both can hit sixes from the first ball. That is making a big difference for RCB right now,” Gavaskar said.

Padikkal has played 81 matches and 80 innings in his IPL career, scoring 2,014 runs at a strike rate of 130.52 and an average of 26.15. His tally includes one century and 14 fifties.

Following the win, Royal Challengers Bengaluru sit second on the IPL 2026 standings with 10 points and a net run rate of +1.101. The franchise has played seven matches, winning five and losing two.

RCB will face Delhi Capitals (DC) in their upcoming fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday, April 27.