Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match for his 81 off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. However, at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli was quick to turn the spotlight on his younger partner Devdutt Padikkal, whose explosive 55 off 27 balls set the tone for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s successful 206-run chase against the Titans in an Indian Premier League group stage clash.
While and acceleration, Padikkal’s early burst ensured were never behind the rate, as the pair stitched together a 115-run partnership that effectively sealed the contest’s outcome.
“I think Dev’s done this twice this season, where he’s come in and absolutely played a blinder from ball one. You know, the first ball he hit off Rabada was magnificent, and he has the game awareness and the ability, especially in conditions like ours, to be able to play good cricketing shots and hurt opposition, striking over 200, which is quite rare, to be honest,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
Kohli highlighted Padikkal’s ability to dominate without resorting to high-risk slogging, a quality that allowed RCB to maintain both tempo and control in the chase.
“You never see him slogging the ball. You feel like he’s not giving you a sniff in the game and yet he’s scoring so freely. So I think Dev’s innings was the clear difference in the first half,” he added.
The RCB batter also explained how the partnership affected his own approach, allowing him to settle in before taking responsibility for changing the momentum later in the innings.
“And then I was just trying to stay in the game enough so that he doesn’t feel all the pressure. And it was my responsibility to try and hit boundaries at the right times. And yeah, that partnership was the game-sealer and the game-changer for us eventually,” the 37-year-old said.
Reflecting on the broader match context, Kohli felt fell short of what the surface demanded despite a flying start, with RCB’s bowling effort ensuring the chase remained within reach.
“I mean, even in our bowling innings, I think we bowled really well to pull things back. They were about 20-25 short in the end. We were looking at 230, 235 at one stage. But our bowlers did a magnificent job and the feedback was the pitch is not bad at all. It’s probably the best batting conditions we’ve had so far,” he said.
“They were 128/0 at one stage, and I felt they were a few runs short in the end,” Kohli added.
The game also marked RCB’s final league-stage appearance at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium this season, with the team set to travel to Raipur for their remaining two group matches. The former RCB captain was reflective about the campaign at home, where RCB have enjoyed strong support and results.
“Yeah, brilliant. I mean, firstly, we’re quite happy that we were able to play five games here. The fans get to see the team again, and it’s just a special place to play cricket. Hopefully, at the later stages of the tournament, we can come back here and entertain the crowd once more. It’s been brilliant to play at home and win four out of five here, so it’s been a great start,” he said.
