Devdutt Padikkal continues to pile up centuries in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, extending a remarkable run of form for Karnataka. On Saturday, the left-hander scored his fourth hundred in just five innings, builds his case for an ODI call during the competition.
Padikkal’s last century came against Tripura in a Group A match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on January 3. After Tripura won the toss, Karnataka were asked to bat first, losing Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair in the first three overs to slip to 6 for 2. However, Padikkal again proved a calming presence.
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The opener absorbed the pressure with a composed approach and anchored the innings through a crucial 136-run partnership that steadied Karnataka after an early collapse. He later added another valuable stand of 65 runs with KL Rahul putting in a brisk 35 while Smaran contributed a useful 60 in the order. Padikkal reached his hundred with a single in the 38th over and finished with a mature knock that took Karnataka to an impressive 332 for 7 in their 50 overs.
The century was Padikkala’s 13th in List A cricket and capped another dominant performance in what has been an excellent campaign for Vijay Hazare. He started the season with a brilliant performance of 147 off 118 balls against Jharkhand, followed it up with 124 off 137 deliveries against Kerala and then responded emphatically to a rare failure against Tamil Nadu by scoring 113 against Puducherry.
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With four hundreds in five innings, Padikkal became the tournament’s leading run-scorer, having already crossed the 500-run mark with an average and strike-rate in excess of 100. He also hit 45 boundaries, underscoring his ability to combine volume scoring with fluency.
With the Board of Control for Cricket in India set to announce India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand, Padikkal’s purple patch has ensured he remains firmly in the conversation. For now, his focus remains unchanged, piling on the runs and letting his bat do the talking in India’s premier domestic one-day competition.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
January 3, 2026
