SMAT 2019: Twitter goes berserk as Devdutt Padikkal continues his whirlwind form in the semi-final

The left-hander finished as the highest run-getter in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.

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Devdutt Padikkal
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Devdutt Padikkal. (Photo Source: Twitter)

You’ve got to love the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy purely because of the contests and as well as for the young precocious talents it unleashes for everyone to see. And, no one has stamped his authority more on the tournament- apart from Suryakumar Yadav, of-course, is Karnataka’s tearaway opener Devdutt Padikkal. And, to be honest, it has been like that throughout the domestic season. 

The left-hander finished as the highest run-getter in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy where he racked up 609 runs in 11 innings at an average of 67.67, and Padikkal continued with the same in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In 11 matches of the Twenty20 tournament, Devdutt’s score read: 53* (33), 5 (4), 122* (60), 75 (43), 37* (28), 11 (10), 36 (20), 63 (30), 2 (3), 57 (34) and 87 off 42 balls- that’s 548 runs at an average of 68.5 and a whirlwind strike-rate of 178.5- when no batsmen had stroked over 150.

Devdutt Padikkal is the leading run-scorer in both 50-over and 20-over domestic tournament this season

Padikkal’s 87 off 42 balls came during Karnataka’s semi-final fixture against Haryana, one that helped the defending champions scale down Haryana’s 8-194 in 20 overs.  Chasing 195 to make their way into their fourth final in the past five years, Karnataka needed something special from their top-order to scale down the target after Abhimanyu Mithun’s unreal T20 record of five wickets in six balls had restricted Haryana to 8-194.

It was at this time when Devdutt Padikkal (87) and KL Rahul (66) decided to take the onus upon themselves to steer their team towards the total and book tickets for the final in what is a South Indian derby now- with Tamil Nadu having also made their way into the all-important final- a rematch of this year’s Vijay-Hazare Trophy final.

The duo racked up 125 runs for the first wicket in a mere 9.3 overs during which Padikkal smoked eleven fours and four fours while KL Rahul nailed six sixes and four boundaries. With Padikkal having a dream season, fans on social media want him to open the batting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming season and this is how they reacted to the left-hander’s innings on Friday. Meanwhile, Padikkal will hope he carries his whirlwind form in the grand finale when Karnataka take on Tamil Nadu for the titular clash on Sunday.

Here’s how Twitter reacted-

 

 

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