Devdutt Padikkal sets Vijay Hazare Trophy record with third 600-run season, misses 5th century in six innings

Devdutt Padikkal has notched up five fifty-plus scores in six innings this Vijay Hazare Trophy season. (JioHotstar screengrab)

Devdutt Padikkal’s otherworldly purple patch continued in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he racked up his fifth fifty-plus score of the season in six innings as he took on Rajasthan at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Padikkal, however, missed out on what could have been his fifth century of the edition as he fell on 91 against left-arm spinner Manav Suthar. His 13 centuries in 34 innings are already a staggering achievement, only bettered by Maharashtra’s Ankeet Bawane (15 in 99 matches) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (14 in 57 matches). Padikkal, however, still set a fresh record in the tournament, having sped to over 600 runs in just six innings.

The left-hander made his List A debut for Karnataka in 2018 and has since gone on a tear in the VHT. Padikkal notched up 609 runs in 11 innings in only his second season in the 2019-20 edition. He then backed it up with a sensational 737 runs in eight innings in the 2020-21 edition, laced with four consecutive centuries. With over 600 runs in six innings this season, Padikkal has also become the first batter in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to accumulate as many runs in a season thrice in their career.

Padikkal’s List A average stands head and shoulders above the rest – at 83.62 across 38 innings – the highest by any batter who has aggregated at least 2000 runs in the format. For the mentioned cut-off, Ruturaj Gaikwad follows Padikkal with a 57.69 average, followed by the legendary Virat Kohli who hauls a 57.67 average for over 16,000 List A runs.

Despite his imperious run of form, Padikkal was overlooked for the India ODI squad that was picked for the three-match series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Baroda. Besides his VHT appearances, Padikkal has only played two 50-over games for India A and three innings in the zonal Deodhar Trophy in 2023.

Padikkal’s Vijay Hazare Trophy scores since debut: 58, 2, 60, 8, 44, 79, 103, 102, 50, 92, 11, 52, 97, 152, 126, 145, 101, 64, 4, 0, 71, 117, 70, 93*, 114, 102, 86, 8, 147, 124, 22, 113, 108, 91.