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Following defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), RCB batter Devdutt Padikkal hailed Virat Kohli's century, saying that it was incredible how having two back-to-back ducks in the previous two games did not play on his mind and he managed to bounce back after the minor setback.
After two ducks, it was time for a 'King Kohli' masterclass at Raipur as he dialled down on his aggression and kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles, reaching his ninth IPL century and 14,000 T20 runs during a cakewalk six-wicket win over KKR on Wednesday. During the game, he put up a 92-run stand for the second wicket with Padikkal after Jacob Bethell endured another failure. Following the match in the post-match presser, Paddikal said about Virat, "It was incredible to watch. I had the best seat in the house tonight. Some of the shots he played were remarkable. He showed why he is what he is. Coming into the game after two ducks is not easy. To not have that on the mind and bat the way he did was incredible." "You have played so much cricket in your career. Everyone comes here to perform. No one comes here to score ducks or score hundreds every single game. He understands that better than anyone else, bounces back and got runs. He showed why he is one of the best in business today," he said. Padikkal revealed that the conversations with Virat during the partnership while chasing 193 were to take the team to such a position where the rest of the batting line-up felt at ease. "Over the last couple of games, we had lost wickets early and were not able to stitch those partnerships. It was important that we elongated the partnership as long as possible," he added. On the Raipur surface, which faced some rain before the match, he said that the pitch was not as tacky and "up and down" as the one they got against the Mumbai Indians (MI). "It had something for the new ball initially. But once that swing died down, it was an easy wicket to bat on," he signed off. Coming to the match, RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first, reducing KKR to 48/2. It was knocks from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (71* in 46 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) and Rinku Singh (49* in 32 balls, with three fours and two sixes) which took KKR to 192/4 in 20 overs. Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a wicket each. During the chase, Virat lost his opening partner, Jacob Bethell (15) early once again, but a 92-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (39 in 27 balls, with seven fours) kept RCB above the required run-rate. Towards the end, it was Virat all over KKR as RCB chased down the total in 19.1 overs with six wickets in hand. RCB is back to the top of the table, with eight wins and four losses, giving them 16 points. On the other hand, KKR, which was on a four-match unbeaten streak after six winless matches (spanning five losses and a no result), faces a massive dent to their playoff chances, making their final three matches a must-win affair. (ANI)
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