Devdutt Padikkal's unbeaten 124 (Source: @jitenda60203698/x.com)
Every era of Indian cricket births its own magicians, players who don’t just score runs or take wickets, they create art with every stroke and spell. While Mumbai’s legendary legacy in Indian cricket is known, Karnataka silently shaped some of the finest cricket talent that has stunned the world.
Continuing the legacy of the legendary ‘Rahuls’ from the state, a left-handed young batter, Devdutt Padikkal, stunned the world with his effortless batting. He channeled his excellence from the red ball format to the limited over stage as effortlessly turning a page in a book.
After starting the SMAT 2025 with some early blows, he smashed an unbeaten hundred against Tamil Nadu and silenced the buzz over his form. And this isn’t new, as he’d silenced critics before with a clutch knock in SMAT 2022 against Maharashtra. Let’s relive his innings.
Devdutt lets his bat shut down the doubters
Cricket is never boring, as it never fails to give a chance to youngsters to craft the widest mark with their excellence. Some of them make the loudest entry, while some of them work quietly as the world come together to hail their brilliance. Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal belongs to the latter, lighting up age-group cricket and domestic T20s with knocks so sharp that the entire cricketing world had to take notice.
Dazzling at the grassroot level, he made his entry in the Karnataka state team, and the side started polishing another gem for the Indian cricket. With record-breaking knocks at the Ranji Trophy, India’s under-19 side, and even a sensational IPL debut season, the left-handed batter enjoyed sky-high success in the initial days of his domestic career.
Cricket carries two sides of the same story, heroes rising and heroes falling. After a strong finish in the IPL 2021 , Devdutt Padikkal suddenly hit an unexpected slump at the Rajasthan Royals in the next year. While this was the most normal thing in the game, the noise from critics grew louder than ever.
Doubts piled up, whispers grew louder, and even his spot in the XI was shaken. But all it takes is one magical day to flip a hard patch, and for Padikkal, it was the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, where his unbeaten, sublime knock stunned the world, turning the critics into his admirers.
Padikkal explodes with a flawless 124* to flip the narrative
In their tournament opener of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, Karnataka faced Maharashtra in Mohali, but the world was not ready for a ‘Padikkal Storm’. Just when expectations were low, the stylish left-hander unleashed his best. While batting first, he came to open the innings with Mayank Agarwal, and the opponent bowlers had a nightmare on the surface.
When he started with all patience, scoring only six runs in the first 10 balls. In the middle overs, Paddikal channeled the beast into him as he smashed the ball heavily all over the ground. He turned a sluggish start into a run riot, and the Maharashtra bowlers faced his heat.
After smashing a fiery half-century, he eyed another T20 hundred of his domestic career. Every stroke from Padikkal was pure magic, and opponent bowlers had no answers to stop him. After a fiery century, he didn’t stop as he tightened the grip while guiding Karnataka towards a strong position.
Devdutt Padikkal went on an absolute rampage, smashing an unbeaten 124 off just 62 balls, including 14 fours and 6 towering sixes at a blazing strike rate of 200.00. With Padikkal’s carnage, the team put on a grand total of 215 runs and ended up winning the match by 99 runs.
Despite being called a slow T20 batter, Devdutt proved his firepower in every given opportunity. The domestic stage saw his carnage, but is is still waiting for another T20I call up for the Indian side after making his debut in 2021 against Sri Lanka. His form may have dipped and surged, but his class? That never left the youngster.
He defied every odds with unreal will-power. Whenever the world doubted his ability, he remained calm, letting his trusted weapon do the talking. That monstrous 124* against mighty Maharashtra isn’t just a knock, it’s a statement the T20 world will remember forever.
