Devdutt Padikkal hammers his fifth 90-plus score in VHT 2025-26
What's the story
Devdutt Padikkal, the Indian batting sensation, continues to break records in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Karnataka batsman scored a stunning 91 against Rajasthan at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. This was his fifth 90-plus score of the season in six innings. Despite missing out on his fifth century of this edition, Padikkal crossed the 600-run mark for the third time in an VHT edition. Here are his stats.
Knock
Another fine hand from the Karnataka opener
Batting first in the game, Karnataka were off to a flier with Padikkal adding 162 runs with his captain Mayank Agarwal for the opening wicket. The former batted with great intent as he recorded 12 fours and two sixes en route to his 91 off 82 balls. Notably, Padikkal batter started his VHT 2025-26 campaign with a 147-run knock against Jharkhand. His following scores were 124 against Kerala, 22 runs against Tamil Nadu, 113 against Puducherry, and 108 against Tripura.
Batting prowess
Padikkal's impressive batting average and record
According to ESPNcricinfo, Padikkal now has 13 tons and as many fifties across 38 innings in List A cricket. With his latest knock, the southpaw has now raced to 2,676 runs, as his average reads a jaw-dropping 83.62, the highest by any batter with over 2,000 runs in this format. Notably, Padikkal had scored a whopping 609 runs during his second season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) back in 2019-20.
Career milestones
Padikkal's journey in the Vijay Hazare Trophy
In the 2020-21 season of the VHT, Padikkal had an extraordinary run with four consecutive centuries and a total of 737 runs in eight innings. The ongoing season has saw him score 605 runs at an average of 100.83 and a strike rate of 103.41. He has hence become the first batter to score over 600 runs in a single season of this tournament thrice during his career.
Team selection
Padikkal's exclusion from India ODI squad
Despite his stellar performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Padikkal was not selected for the India ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand. The series will begin on January 11 in Baroda. Apart from his VHT appearances, he has only played two 50-over matches for India A and three innings in the zonal Deodhar Trophy this year.
DYK
Padikkal only behind these names
Each of Padikkal's 13 List A tons has come in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (34 innings). As per ESPNcricinfo, the southpaw is the batter with the joint-third-most tons in VHT history. He shares the spot with his current skipper Mayank Agarwal. The duo is now only behind Ankit Bawne (15) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (14) on this list.