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It will take Washington Sundar forever to live down the catch he dropped at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday night, because it wasn’t just another catch offered by just another batter. The Gujarat Titans all-rounder shelled the most straightforward of chances, at mid-wicket, to reprieve Virat Kohli off the first delivery the Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener faced. Kohli punished the error with a spectacular 81 which, coupled with a mesmeric 55 by Devdutt Padikkal, helped RCB finish their league engagements at the Chinnaswamy with a five-wicket victory.
Vijay Dahiya, Gujarat’s assistant coach, understandably rued the missed opportunity but was in awe of his Delhi-mate, who went top of the run-making charts with 328 from seven outings. “He is ziddi [stubborn] to do well, that’s one thing that stands out,” the former India stumper crowed. “He has been around for such a long time, he is not playing to prove a point to anyone. It’s for the man in the mirror.
Vijay Dahiya
“I am very confident [had the catch been taken] that we would have won this game on a surface like this,” Dahiya added. “He made the surface look really easy. When you are commanding the situation, you make the bowler bowl where you want him to. That’s the kind of innings Virat played, he put pressure on the bowlers — and these were world-class bowlers, not only domestic bowlers. That’s what Virat is all about. His mindset sets him apart from a lot of other people. Skill is one aspect, game sense is another. But his awareness, his energy and his willingness, that’s amazing.”
Such was the hype around Kohli that Padikkal was almost a sideshow though he reached his fifty in 20 balls (as opposed to Kohli’s 30) and struck six effortless sixes to make a chase of 206 appear ridiculously easy. Padikkal has been involved in numerous meaningful partnerships with Kohli, including Friday’s 115 for the second wicket.
“The biggest thing for me is his energy and the intensity that he brings to every single game, every single net session,” Padikkal observed.
“Although he has achieved everything there is to be achieved in this game, he continues to give his 100% in every practice session and every match. That kind of commitment is very hard to find. When you see someone so driven and so passionate, it rubs off on everybody else,” he added.
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