Devdutt Padikkal has been in the form of his life this season in domestic cricket, and on Sunday, February 1, he played one of the finest knocks in his red-ball career. At the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali on Sunday, Day 4, Karnataka needed to chase 250 runs, and Punjab were considered favourites.
However, captain Padikkal almost single-handedly helped his team win the match to take a dramatic entry into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. The touring side won the match by five wickets, reaching
the target in just 27.5 overs and finished with 27 points, behind leader Madhya Pradesh.
KL Rahul was dismissed cheaply on Day 4, but Padikkal forged an exhilarating 113-run partnership off 72 balls to give Karnataka hopes of a memorable win. After Agarwal was dismissed for a 36-ball 53 by Emanjot Singh Chahal, Aneesh KV and Smaran Ravichandran fell in quick succession.
From 130/1, Karnataka slumped to 134/4 in no time. Padikkal needed support, and he got it from Shreyas Gopal, who made 33 off 22 balls. Their fifth-wicket partnership yielded 67 runs off just 42 balls. After Gopal departed, Vidhyadhar Patel walked out to the crease.
Patil remained unbeaten on 14 off just 10 balls, but it was Padikkal who did the heavy lifting. In the end, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter remained unbeaten on 120 off 85 balls, belting six fours and five sixes. He finished with a fabulous strike rate of 141.18.
Anmoljeet Singh was the most successful bowler for Punjab as he bagged a three-for. However, he gave away 40 runs in his four overs.
In the quarterfinal, Karnataka will now square off against an unbeaten Mumbai side. Mumbai finished on top of Elite group D, with four wins from seven matches and 33 points in the bank. Jammu and Kashmir, Bengal, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh are the other teams that have booked tickets to the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
