Devdutt Padikkal delivered another special moment in domestic cricket on Monday, January 12, as he hit the headlines with a historic achievement in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Devdutt Padikkal became the first batter ever to score 700 or more runs in two different seasons of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Devdutt Padikkal Makes History in Vijay Hazare Trophy
The Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal reached the milestone during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 quarterfinal against Mumbai at the BCCI Centre 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.
During his match-winning knock of 81* runs, Padikkal moved into a league of his own, as no other batter has scored 700+ runs twice in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 25-year-old batter had achieved the same feat in the 2020-21 season when he scored 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 Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Narayan Jagadeesan, Karun Nair, and Padikkal himself. But now, Padikkal stands alone as the only player to do it in two different editions.
Eye on the Bigger VHT Record
Now, Padikkal is on the verge of breaking Narayan Jagadeesan’s (830) record for most runs in a single Vijay Hazare Trophy season. The left-handed batter was also twice the leading run scorer in India’s premier 50-over tournament. Now, he has a couple of matches to repeat the feat thrice.
Incredible Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 Season For Padikkal
The ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 has been remarkable for the Karnataka batter. Padikkal has so far smashed four centuries and two half-centuries. He started the campaign with a brilliant 147 from 118 balls against Jharkhand. He continued his rich form with 124 runs in Karnataka’s second Elite Group A match against Kerala.
However, Padikkal managed a low score of 22 against Tamil Nadu, but he bounced back in spectacular fashion by scoring two more centuries in consecutive matches against Puducherry and Tripura, scoring 113 and 108 runs, respectively, in the tournament.
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In the match against Rajasthan on January 6, the RCB star narrowly missed another century, getting out for 91. Then, he managed 35 runs from 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.
Learning Through Batting Positions
Recently, the Karnataka star admitted that the ongoing season feels different because batting in different positions has 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 feel in cricket, it’s important to understand your game inside out; that’s when you can get the best out of yourself.
Batting in different positions has helped me understand which areas I need to target in different phases of the game, and it has helped me build my innings much better over the years.”
