Video of Fastest 100 in IPL 2021 : 6 Sixes : Devdutt Padikkal 101 in 52 balls

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, April 22 2021, 07:30 PM IST

Match Result : RCB won by 10 wickets

Player of the Match : Devdutt Padikkal

Match Report : After struggling on the slow, spinning tracks of Chennai, Padikkal produced a phenomenal display of hitting right through the line of the ball. A cut for four off Chris Morris. A straight drive for six off Mustafizur Rahman. A slog for six off Chetan Sakariya. Each of those shots brought jaws to the floor and the Royals to their knees.

Padikkal reached his fifty off only 27 balls and showed no signs of stopping. Towards the end, he seemed to be playing the game only against himself. “Can I clear this boundary? Oh yes. Easy. How about we practice the reverse sweep now?  His hundred came in the 17th over, off his 51st delivery, which he drilled through extra cover and roared in primal delight.

Highest opening partnerships for RCB
181*Kohli – Padikkal v RR Mumbai 2021
167 Gayle – Dilshan v PWI Bengaluru 2013
147 Gayle – Kohli v KXIP Bengaluru 2016

Virat Kohli: “It was an outstanding innings. He batted really well for his first season last time. There was a lot of talk about him not accelerating after getting to 30s. He’s put all that to rest. It was a good pitch to bat on to be honest, and him being tall meant that bowlers struggled with their lengths.

T20 cricket is always about partnership cricket. You can’t always go big from the word go. When one guy is going well, it’s important for me to ensure that I don’t lose my wicket. It can change on other days. We spoke about it (on the 100).

He told me to finish it off, I told him to get to it first. He said many will come, I said yea you can say that after you get to the landmark. He deserved to get the three-figure mark. We don’t have standout names (in bowling) but we have effective ones. We have depth in our bowling. They are professionals.” 

Highest targets chased down without losing a wicket:
184 Gambhir – Lynn KKR v GL 2017
179 Watson – Du Plessis CSK v KXIP 2020
178 Kohli – Padikkal RCB v RR 2021 *
163 Tendulkar – Dwayne Smith MI v RR 2012

Devdutt Padikkal | Player of the Match: “It’s been special. I could only wait my turn. When I was down with COVID, all I was thinking of was to come here and play the first match here. I couldn’t do that but was keen to contribute to the team’s win.

The wicket was coming on really well and we got a good start. When you get into a partnership like that, it helps as runs come from both ends. (Whether he was worried about the 100) Not really, that’s what I was telling Virat to go for it. For me it’s not about getting to a hundred, I wouldn’t mind missing out on hundreds as long as I contribute to team’s wins.

Throughout the innings there were times when he was going better and then I was going better. Rotation of strike is important. We just clicked well.”

Click Below to Watch the Video :

https://twitter.com/avishkargovardh/status/1446192880981184525