Dubai: Devdutt Padikkal displayed his highly rated talent with a half-century on IPL debut before AB de Villiers provided the much needed final flourish to take Royal Challengers Bangalore to 163 for five in their tournament opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday.
The class and calmness Padikkal (56 off 42, 8 fours) showed in his first high-profile game was remarkable, so much so that Australian limited overs captain Aaron Finch (29 off 27) was happy to play second fiddle at the other end.
Sunrisers pulled things back in the middle overs following a 90-run opening stand between Padikkal and Finch. De Villiers (51 off 30) came up with crucial boundary hits towards the end to take the team score past 160.
The 20-year-old Padikkal, possessing a near perfect balance in the crease, played all around the ground, playing the pull and aerial cover drive with equal confidence.
Padikkal…