RCB batsman Devdutt Padikkal believes his side has a chance to make a comeback versus Mumbai Indians on Sunday, September 26 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. RCB was in good shape in the India phase of the competition but has now lost 2 consecutive games in the UAE.
Chennai Super Kings defeated them by 6 wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in their last match. RCB also lost their 7th match in a row in the IPL in the UAE with the loss. According to Padikkal, the Challengers aimed to make the CSK hitters work really hard for every run because the pitch wasn’t pleasant to bat on.
We were trying to play to the merit of the ball: Devdutt Padikkal
“Yeah, definitely. There are always some things we can improve on. At that stage, we were looking to take the game deep, we felt that the wicket was getting a little tougher and we knew it would not be easy for someone new coming into bat. So, yeah that was what we were looking to do and trying to take our chances whenever we can,” Padikkal said in an Interaction.
The RCB got off to a fantastic start and was sent in to bat first, with Padikkal and captain Virat Kohli putting on a 111-run partnership for the 1st wicket. Padikkal top-scored for RCB with a 50-ball 70, packed with 5 fours and 3 sixes, and Kohli’s with 53.
Unfortunately, and it did not work out against CSK: Padikkal
RCB, on the other hand, could only produce 45 runs off 40 balls following Dwayne Bravo removed Kohli. Bravo went on to take 3 wickets in total. The Challengers finished with a below 156 after appearing excellent for a score above 180 runs. Padikkal stated that RCB didn’t make the most of its strong start.
“Obviously when you have a start like that you would like to get 170-180 at least. We really did not set a target like that, we were trying to play to the merit of the ball, unfortunately, and it did not work out against CSK. But hopefully, we can make that right in the next game,” he added.
