Read Scoops has built a list of all-time IPL centuries and it’s our duty to update this list every time there’s a new entry into the IPL record books. It is such a prestigious tournament and every record in this tournament should be appreciated. 22nd April 2021 was one day where records were broken and there were smiles across millions of Royal Challengers Bangalore fans across the world.
Why, you ask?! Well for one, RCB went on to win their encounter against Rajasthan Royals which was Match 16 of the IPL 2021 season. Secondly, the win meant four consecutive wins to begin their 2021 campaign. Thirdly, they recorded a 10-wicket victory in a chase of slightly below 180 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Fourthly, they saw one of their upcoming batting stars get to his first IPL century!
We’re talking about Devdutt Padikkal aka ‘DDP’ who first appeared in this tournament in IPL 2020 and it was an immediate success for him, ending as RCB’s top scorer that season in UAE. Then, he returned to the top of the order in IPL 2021, one match late because he was diagnosed positive with Covid-19 and had to complete his compulsory quarantine before joining the side. When he got back, there was magic!
SEE ALSO: List of bookmakers accepting bets from India
He failed with scores of 11 and 25 in his first 2 games in IPL 2021 but we knew that was the calm before the storm because he came into this tournament with a splendid 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring a record four consecutive centuries there at one point of time. Here, he smashed the ball to every corner of the Wankhede, bringing up what was his maiden IPL century, batting alongside his captain Virat Kohli.
Winning the toss for RCB, Kohli put Rajasthan in to bat and the latter managed 177/9 in their 20 overs. While that’s a par score at Wankhede, it was actually a great recovery from RR because they were tottering at 43/4 at one stage of their innings. Former RCB player Shivam Dube himself top scored for the Royals with 46 while it was a good bowling outing for Mohammed Siraj who got 3/27 with the ball.
We expected it to be an easy chase on a good batting track but the RCB openers went on to cruise to victory. A slow but steady start soon blossomed into bludgeoning to all parts of the ground and the next thing we knew, Padikkal was struggling to get a century because Kohli was going berserk at the other end. However, Kohli soon realised the grandness of the situation and started taking singles to let DDP get to this landmark.
SEE ALSO: List of fantasy sports websites in India
Finally, Padikkal smashed one through extra covers and brought up a fine, well-deserved hundred. Coming back from criticism of having a slow strike rate in IPL 2020 and returning from Covid sickness, he completed his maiden IPL ton here in just 51 balls, bringing up the fastest century by an uncapped player in the IPL while also becoming the third youngest (both at the time) to bring up an IPL century!
Padikkal ended with 101(52)* and his partner Kohli ended with 72(47)*, the latter also completing a milestone on the day, becoming the first to reach 6,000 runs in IPL history. With that, RCB went to 4 out of 4 in IPL 2021 and they also recorded their highest ever opening partnership in 14 years since the franchise’s inception! For more updates on IPL cricket, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
Register on 10Cric and get a whopping INR 10,000 first deposit bonus
