The Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal once again lit up the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, but he fell agonizingly nine runs short of a century in the 59th game of the tournament against Rajasthan on January 6 at Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad.
The Devdutt Padikkal Knock That Set Up History
Devdutt Padikkal was in sublime touch from the start against Rajasthan before being clean bowled by Manav Suthar for 91, missing his fifth century of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26. The elegant left-hander started slowly but paced up his innings after settling with Mayank Agarwal.
The Karnataka openers stitched 184 runs off 171 balls to set the stage for a big total against Rajasthan in the ongoing clash. Before losing his wicket, Padikkal smashed 12 boundaries and two sixes during his brilliant knock against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
A Season of Sheer Dominance: Devdutt Padikkal by the Numbers
Devdutt Padikkal’s run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 has been nothing short of extraordinary. He has carried his Karnataka cricket team with calm authority and flawless timing, turning the Vijay Hazare Trophy into his personal stage to dominate with ease.
His scores in the tournament tell the full story of his dominance. He opened the campaign with a breathtaking 147 off 118 balls. He followed it up with 124 from 137 deliveries in the second match. After a 22-run knock in the third match, the RCB batter returned with three more big knocks.
Here’s how Padikkal’s scores in the VHT 2025-26 show his relentless dominance:
Match 1: 147 runs off 118 balls; Karnataka beat Jharkhand by 5 wickets.
Match 2: 124 runs off 137 balls; Karnataka beat Kerala by 8 wickets.
Match 3: 22 runs off 12 balls; Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu by 4 wickets.
Match 4: 113 runs off 116 balls; Karnataka beat Puducherry by 67 runs.
Match 5: 108 runs off 120 balls; Karnataka beat Tripura by 80 runs.
Match 6: 91 runs off 82 balls (match underway)
This run has propelled the RCB batter’s List A career to a phenomenal 13 centuries and 13 fifties in just 38 innings. He now has over 2600 runs in List A cricket to his name.
The Historic Record: First to 600+ Runs in Three Editions
With his brilliant knock against Rajasthan, Padikkal has become the first batter in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to score more than 600 runs in three different editions.
Read Also: Devdutt Padikkal opens up on Virat Kohli’s influence and Yuvraj Singh’s fearlessness
The Karnataka batter had scored 600+ runs in the 2019–20 season, repeated the feat in 2020–21, and now once again crossed the 600-run mark in the ongoing season, becoming the first-ever player in the Vijay Hazare Trophy history to do so.
The Devdutt Padikkal VHT juggernaut continues. He becomes the first batter to record 600+ runs in three different #VijayHazareTrophy seasons.
— Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) January 6, 2026
Class, Consistency, Yet No India Chance for Padikkal
Padikkal continues to raise the bar with every innings, with milestones becoming routine for him in List A cricket. Even on a day when he missed a century, he reminded everyone why he is one of the most reliable and classy batters in domestic cricket, yet the selectors overlooked the red-hot batter for the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
Despite his stunning consistency in domestic cricket, Padikkal is yet to make his ODI debut and has not been recalled to the Indian side since 2024. He has played only two Tests and two T20Is for the country so far.
