Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli

Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli during Match 16 of IPL 2021 Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL

Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal smashed his maiden IPL century against the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening. The stylish southpaw launched six sixes and 11 fours as RCB kept their unbeaten run intact, cruising past Rajasthan in Match 16 of IPL 2021.

Padikkal had returned to action recently only after recovering from COVID-19. However, he had got off to a poor start in the season with scores of 25 and 11 in his first two outings. The youngster bounced back in style and registered 101 runs off 52 balls in the chase of Rajasthan's target of 178 runs

RCB skipper Virat Kohli was full of praise for Padikkal after the match, "It was an outstanding innings. He batted really well for his first season last time. There was a lot of talk about him not accelerating after getting to 30s. He's put all that to rest. It was a good pitch to bat on to be honest, and him being tall meant that bowlers struggled with their lengths."

Kohli also slammed 72 runs off 47 balls and remained unbeaten. He smashed six fours and three sixes during his knock. During the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli revealed that Padikkal was more interested in keeping RCB's unbeaten run intact, rather than sealing his century.

WATCH: Kohli reveals the conversation he and Padikkal had

"We spoke about it (on the 100). Padikkal told me to finish it off, I told him to get to it first. He said many will come, I said yea you can say that after you get to the landmark. He deserved to get the three-figure mark," Virat Kohli said after the 10-wicket win over Rajasthan.

The win has helped RCB regain top position in the standings after four wins from four matches. Meanwhile, Rajasthan are struggling at the bottom of the table with one win and three defeats from four games.