Published 19:34 IST, October 13th 2020
Rise of Padikkal added extra spice, says Brad Hogg; exudes confidence in Bangalore
Brad Hogg said that the rise of Devdutt Padikkal has taken a huge weight off the shoulders of Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers, and skipper Virat Kohli
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Former Australian leg-spinner Brad Hogg said that the rise of Devdutt Padikkal has taken a huge weight off the shoulders of Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers, and skipper Virat Kohli in the ongoing Indian Premier League. 20-year-old Devdutt Padikkal is having a dream run in the Dream11 IPL 2020 as he continues to shine at the top of the order for Bangalore with back-to-back impressive knocks.
Taking to Twitter, Hogg took to his Twitter and said the rise of the rookie has added extra spice to the Bangalore top order and added Virat Kohli and co. look like a ‘real deal’ this year.
The rise of Padikkal has added extra spice in the top four of RCB taking a huge weight off the shoulders of the three big guns Finch, Kohli, & De Villiers. Padikkal the pick of the tournament at the half way mark. @RCBTweets are the real deal this year. #RCBvKKR #IPL2020 #KKRvRCB
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) October 13, 2020
The rookie southpaw has thus far scored three half-centuries in seven games and has even outperformed his more experienced opening partner in Aaron Finch as far as consistency is concerned. Meanwhile, Bangalore registered their fifth win in this year's edition of the marquee tournament after decimating Kolkata for just 116 runs, grabbing a huge 82-run victory.
Bangalore's turnaround in IPL
It was evident in the first two games that Bangalore hadn't found the right combination just yet. After winning the first match, Bangalore lost the second game to Punjab by a whopping 97 runs, which made the Bangalore think tank to alter the team combination. The Bangalore franchise then decided to give the wicketkeeping duties to AB de Villiers, which gave them the liberty to play an extra bowler and since then the fortunes of Virat Kohli's sides have changed completely.
The same was pointed out by cricket analyst and commentator, Harsha Bhogle during the Bangalore-Kolkata fixture. Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and highlighted the reason behind Bangalore's turnaround. Harsha Bhogle said that the moment AB de Villiers decided to take on the gloves, the team's combination was set right. Harsha Bhogle also stated that the biggest factor in Bangalore's turnaround was the decision to make Ab de Villiers the gloveman of the side.
19:34 IST, October 13th 2020