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Devdutt Padikkal delivered another special moment in domestic cricket on Monday, January 12, as he grabbed headlines with a historic feat in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Devdutt Padikkal became the first batter to score 700 runs or more in two different Vijay Hazare Trophy seasons.
Devdutt Padikkal makes history with Vijay Hazare Trophy
Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal reached the milestone during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 quarter-final against Mumbai at the BCCI Center of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru on Monday. Devdutt Padikkal needed 60 runs to cross the 700-run mark this season and got there in the 24th over of Karnataka’s innings.
In his match-winning 81* runs, Padikkal entered a league of his own as no other batter has scored more than 700 runs twice in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 25-year-old batter had achieved the same feat in the 2020-21 season by scoring 737 runs in 7 innings for Karnataka.
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Only a handful of players have crossed 700 runs in a single Vijay Hazare Trophy season, including Mayank AgarwalPrithvi Shaw, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karun Nairand Padikkal itself. But now, Padikkal is the only player to do so in two different editions.
Eye on the biggest VHT record
Now, Padikkal is set to break Narayan Jagadeesan’s record (830) for the most runs in a single season in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The left-handed batter was also the top run-scorer in India’s inaugural 50-over tournament twice. He now has a few matches left to repeat the feat three times.
Incredible 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season for Padikkal
The ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 has been remarkable for the Karnataka batter. Padikkal has smashed four centuries and two half-centuries so far. He started the campaign with a brilliant 147 off 118 balls against Jharkhand. He continued his rich form with 124 runs in the second match of the Karnataka Elite Group A against Kerala.
However, Padikkal managed a low score of 22 against Tamil Nadu, but he bounced back spectacularly by scoring two more centuries in consecutive matches against Puducherry and Tripura, scoring 113 and 108 runs respectively in the tournament.
In the match against Rajasthan on January 6, the RCB star narrowly missed out on another century, getting out for 91. Then, he made 35 runs off 39 balls against Madhya Pradesh in Karnataka’s final Elite Group A match in the 50 over tournament. And on Monday, he made 81* against Mumbai.
Learn from batting positions
Recently, the Karnataka star admitted that the current season was different because batting in different positions had taught him more about his own game.
Devdutt Padikkal was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo: “When you start batting in different positions, you learn a lot more about your own game. I think in cricket, it’s important to understand your game inside and out; that’s when you can get the best out of yourself.
Batting at different positions has helped me understand what areas I need to target in different phases of the game, and it has helped me build my innings better over the years.
