IPL 2025 | Padikkal credits Karthik and Flower for his success

Devdutt Padikkal's impactful innings and partnership with Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory against Punjab Kings.

Devdutt Padikkal has played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s away wins this season by playing impactful knocks. His innings of 61 helped RCB cruise to a seven-wicket win against Punjab Kings on Sunday. Padikkal, who scored his maiden fifty in IPL 2025, credited the hard work he put in with Dinesh Karthik and Andy Flower in the run up to to the tournament for his newfound confidence and consistency.

“I think DK and Andy have really helped me to get structure and clarity in my batting. Their tactical inputs like understanding how bowlers would think was really helpful for me to plan my innings a lot better. You need to have clarity in your head when you go out to bat because everything is so fast paced out there in the middle,” he said.

Padikkal, who came on to bat when Phil Salt was dismissed cheaply, said it was important to give the team a good start and he was looking to build a solid partnership with Virat Kohli. “Chasing small totals can be tricky so it was important to give the team a good start. When Salty got out I was thinking of building a good partnership with Virat.

“When you have someone who is so experienced and calm under these circumstances it makes your job very easy. He knows how to lead the team to victory and that is really important when you are chasing down scores because it is easy to get carried away in such situations. He understands when to take the foot off the gas and when to press on it. That kind of calculation and tactical knowledge during the chase makes the job of the other batter very easy,” he added.