SMAT 2019: Twitter goes berserk as Devdutt Padikkal continues his whirlwind form in the semi-final

You’ve got to love the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy purely because of the contests and as well as for the young precocious talents it unleashes for everyone to see. And, no one has stamped his authority more on the tournament- apart from Suryakumar Yadav, of-course, is Karnataka’s tearaway opener Devdutt Padikkal. And, to be honest, it has been like that throughout the domestic season. 

The left-hander finished as the highest run-getter in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy where he racked up 609 runs in 11 innings at an average of 67.67, and Padikkal continued with the same in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In 11 matches of the Twenty20 tournament, Devdutt’s score read: 53* (33), 5 (4), 122* (60), 75 (43), 37* (28), 11 (10), 36 (20), 63 (30), 2 (3), 57 (34) and 87 off 42 balls- that’s 548 runs at an average of 68.5 and a whirlwind strike-rate of 178.5- when no batsmen had stroked over 150.

Devdutt Padikkal is the leading run-scorer in both 50-over and 20-over domestic tournament this season

Padikkal’s 87 off 42 balls came during Karnataka’s semi-final fixture against Haryana, one that helped the defending champions scale down Haryana’s 8-194 in 20 overs.  Chasing 195 to make their way into their fourth final in the past five years, Karnataka needed something special from their top-order to scale down the target after Abhimanyu Mithun’s unreal T20 record of five wickets in six balls had restricted Haryana to 8-194.

It was at this time when Devdutt Padikkal (87) and KL Rahul (66) decided to take the onus upon themselves to steer their team towards the total and book tickets for the final in what is a South Indian derby now- with Tamil Nadu having also made their way into the all-important final- a rematch of this year’s Vijay-Hazare Trophy final.

The duo racked up 125 runs for the first wicket in a mere 9.3 overs during which Padikkal smoked eleven fours and four fours while KL Rahul nailed six sixes and four boundaries. With Padikkal having a dream season, fans on social media want him to open the batting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming season and this is how they reacted to the left-hander’s innings on Friday. Meanwhile, Padikkal will hope he carries his whirlwind form in the grand finale when Karnataka take on Tamil Nadu for the titular clash on Sunday.

Here’s how Twitter reacted-

If @RCBTweets doesn't start with Devdutt Padikkal, then I'm done with RCB. #RCB#SyedMushtaqAliTrophy #SMAT

— Aniket Singapuri (@imaniketsinga) November 29, 2019

RCB did only one thing right, they bought Devdutt Padikkal last year and retained him this year.

He must play all games this IPL as an opener. #MushtaqAliT20 #IPL2020

— Manish (@IManish311) November 29, 2019

Karnataka have been in seriously red hot form. Devdutt Padikkal has shown some great consistency. Hope RCB give him a start at some point #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy

— Arun Venugopal (@scarletrun) November 29, 2019

If Devdutt Padikkal not presented with opportunity to open for RCB then there would not be any costlier mistake than this

— Srikanth Reddy (@CricketSrikanth) November 29, 2019

Padikkal for RCB

Gaikwad for CSK.

Looking forward to see how they play in IPL 2020.

— Bala (@poetbalaa) November 29, 2019

RCB Director in house to witness Karnataka brilliance by Padikkal.
Hope gets games in IPL season.
Scouts watching the #SMAT closely for few local players to pick this #IPLAuction

— Rohan R Shanbhag (@rony619619) November 29, 2019

Devdutt Padikkal another brilliant inning 87(42) well played DEV…Sure he is going to open for RCB.#SMAT20

— VINAY🏏 (@CRICKETDUDE_) November 29, 2019

This Devdutt Padikkal kid is an absolute treat to watch, RCB got him for crazy cheap price of 20L in the auction. Given RCB's luck, no one could see an opener in him. What a waste management! Hope Mike Hesson changes their fortune this time. Ee sala cup namde.

— LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh) November 29, 2019

.@CoachHesson was in for a Devdutt Padikkal treat in Surat. A match-winning performance to take Karnataka to the final!
All eyes on Washi now. Will he join Dev P for Sunday's final?#SyedMushtaqAliTrophy #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/XXhPcWPKn5

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) November 29, 2019

Thankfully Padikal is not in the auction. The pressure of the high price tag would have affected him. For a change he has been picked earlier based on potential. The IPL is a different beast. Hope he can maintain this form 5 months from now. Good team to be in also.

— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) November 29, 2019

"RCB me hai to nahi khelega" is gone now! Devdutt Padikkal is next superstar. #RCB #devduttpadikkal

— No_Ball_Yorker (@YorkerNo) November 29, 2019

Devdutt Padikkal is playing at a different level. The way they chased 198 today was just brillant. He's so confident of any shot he plays. So much fun to watch him bat this way. RCB are lucky

— Bharat Gupta (@bharat_chels) November 29, 2019

New Opening Pair For #RCB – Washington Sundar & Devdutt Padikkal….. #IPL2020

— Rajesh Khilare (@Cricrajeshpk) November 29, 2019

Hopefully Devdutt Padikkal performs well for RCB

— ⚡ (@s_karthik5) November 29, 2019

What A performance From Devudatt Padikkal 🔥😍😍
ಬೆಂಕಿ ಬ್ಯಾಟಿಂಗ್🔥🔥
New Hope for RCB😉#RCB@RCBTweets #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy

— Abhishek sh |ಅಭಿಷೇಕ| (@MeAbhishek27) November 29, 2019