Bengaluru, March 29 Devdutt Padikkal elegantly hit Jaydev Unadkat's full-length ball on his pads over backward square leg for a six.
This was not an unusual sight for a batter who considers flicks one of their go-to shots.
However, it was unprecedented because Devdutt rarely hits a six off the first ball. Left-handed batsmen tend to settle down before unleashing themselves on the bowlers.
However, the left-handed batsman shed his linear approach against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener on Saturday, and it was just the beginning.
In the next 10 balls he faced, Devdutt hit two more sixes and three fours, scoring 34 runs in 11 balls, with a strike rate of over 300.
In fact, his 61 runs off 26 balls represent the transformation in his batting since 2024 or early 2025.
In this period, Devdutt has scored 543 runs at an average of 60.33 in the Ranji Trophy, 725 runs at 90.62 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and 309 runs at a strike rate of 167.02 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Karnataka coach Yere Goud was not surprised by Devdutt's performance against SRH.
"I think that comes down to his preparation. He is very clear about it. He goes about it keeping in mind the probability of plays — it changes according to where he is batting from — powerplay, mid-overs or the rest. I think that's contributing to his consistency," Goud told