Data Shorts: Kohli and Padikkal - method, matchups and big chases

There are 34 pairs in the IPL with 1000-plus partnership runs. Only six of them average over 50. Most are predictable, the outlier is Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. In 35 stands, they average 52.03 with five century partnerships. In chases, they move into rarer air: 961 runs at 73.92, with four 100-plus stands, the best average among 30 pairs with 500-plus runs in pursuits. Two of those have come this season, both scaling 200+ targets: 101 off 45 against SRH and 115 off 59 against GT.

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The pairing has also fixed a long-standing issue for RCB. Since Kohli moved to open full-time in 2023, RCB's #3 returned the worst numbers in the league across 2023-24: an average of 20.62, less than half of the two table-toppers, both north of 40. Padikkal, meanwhile, was in transit between roles at RR and LSG without finding a home. Bringing him back addressed two needs at once for RCB: a left-hander in the middle and a #3 who naturally flows into Kohli's tempo, often with Kohli already set.

Since 2025, Padikkal has been in the middle for 558 balls, including those as non-striker; Kohli has been at the other end for 79% of them (441 balls). As a pair in that period, they average 64.25 and score at 10.48. Kohli's range against pace across lengths is well documented; Padikkal is close enough for the symmetry to hold. Crucially, his left-handedness disrupts matchups as teams delay left-arm spin or leg spin, shielding Kohli from a relatively less favourable matchup. Kohli's strike rate in overs 7-10 drops to 118.90 from 161.61 in the Powerplay; Padikkal compensates at 161.22, the fourth-best in that phase since 2025 (75+ balls).

They don't insist on one script while breaking the back of a chase. Against SRH, they went hard early: 76 in the Powerplay. Against GT, they waited a touch. At 58/1 after six overs, they were behind their own curve. Then came the release: 73 in the next five overs off Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan, a phase that these two tend to own.

"It's about putting as much pressure as you can on the bowling side when you're chasing. You have to try and stay ahead of the game as much as possible because you don't want to take it right to the very end. I think that's where the shift of mindset has come in.

We want to make sure that whenever we go out there to bat chasing any total, we have to stay ahead of the rate. If we are looking at 10 runs per over, we have to try and stay at 11 or 12. And that's how we have to look at it, especially initially in the power play. And when you have that advantage, I think it then gives you that cushion. If you end up losing wickets, you are already ahead of the rate and that helps you go ahead and finish the game off. And I think we saw that today," - Devdutt Padikkal

Kohli first disrupted Prasidh's hard lengths with an on-the-rise hit, then a charge down. He took what Rashid offered next - two boundaries off long hops. Padikkal followed by taking on familiar angles: two hits behind square on the leg side off length from Prasidh, then a six over wide extra cover. Against Rashid, with the leg-side shorter, he drove inside-out and then slog-swept for six. The field moved; so did the bowling. Rabada returned; Kohli met him with another pair of four and a six.

Padikkal's growth shows most cleanly in the air. Six maximums here, his joint-most in an IPL innings, came in 25 fewer balls than his previous innings. The longer trend is sharper: from one six every 30.1 balls between 2020 and 2024 to one every 10.3 balls since 2025.

"The biggest plus for me is the number of sixes I hit. I don't know if I hit five or six. Yeah, I hit six sixes. And that's not something that is very common for me, at least personally, when I bat. I'm more of a boundary hitter. So the fact that I was able to hit six sixes was quite special. So yeah, probably so far in the IPL, this was my best innings," - Devdutt Padikkal

RCB's current cycle is built on spread; they have the most different Player-of-the-Match winners since 2025. Yet among the regulars, only Padikkal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their best bowler of the night, have not claimed it so far. Padikkal's impact sits between the highlights, rarely foregrounded but usually decisive.