Devdutt Padikkal praised Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik after his sensational batting performance in defending champions RCB’s IPL 2026 season opener against SRH. Padikkal came in as an Impact Player at no. 3 during the run chase, and ended up smashing 61 off 26 balls at a stunning strike rate of 234.62. He also hammered seven fours and four sixes.
Speaking after the match, he credited Flower (head coach) and Karthik (batting coach) for helping him evolve as a T20 batter.
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“The credit for the evolution and improvement of my game goes to our Head Coach Andy Flower and our Batting Coach Dinesh Karthik bhai. They really worked hard on me. It wasn’t easy because there was a lot I needed to change. It wasn’t just technical; it was a lot mentally as well. I needed to really believe that I can play this aggressive brand of cricket. Over the last five or six years, T20 cricket has evolved a lot. When I first came into the IPL in 2020, the cricket we played was very different from what is being played now. So, it was important that I believe in myself that I can do it. I feel Andy and DK helped me get there,” he said
Dissecting the run chase, he said, “It feels good to start off the new season with a win, especially at Bengaluru. The Chinnaswamy Stadium holds a special place in our hearts, and we wanted to give back to our fans who helped us win the trophy last year. When I came out to bat, Virat bhai’s only instruction was to keep the run-rate up and put pressure on the bowlers. My job was to take risks while he anchored the chase. His presence took the pressure off me and let me play freely. We knew SRH’s bowling is not very strong, so we believed we could chase down the target in a smooth manner. We lost Phil Salt early, but it was important to keep the pressure on, so SRH wouldn’t get the chance to come back into the game. We did that well and secured the win.”
Chasing a target of 202 runs, RCB cruised to 203/4 in 15.4 overs. Other than Padikkal’s knock, opener Virat Kohli remained unbeaten till the end, registering 69* off 38 deliveries. Initially, Ishan Kishan’s 38-ball 80 took SRH to 201/9 in 20 overs.
