When Devdutt Padikkal, batting on 47, mistimed a sweep shot from outside off and the ball was hovering in the air, nearing Rashid Khan’s cupped hand, the entire nation must have been praying for some miracle to happen and the young man to reach his deserved fifty on debut. 

It seemed like the cricketing gods granted the wishes of the millions, as Rashid Khan, otherwise, a reliable fielder misjudged the flight of the ball and it rolled towards boundary after escaping his clutches. 

The Royal Challengers Bangalore opener waved his willow as he reached the landmark.

Greetings flooded in from cricketers, experts and fans for the youngster after he set up an opening Indian Premier League win for last year’s wooden spooners in Dubai on Monday.

Bangalore trumped Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by David Warner, and Padikkal’s confidence and flair did not go unnoticed by his opening partner Finch.

Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch praising the 20-year-old, for his 56 off 42, said to AFP, “Dev(dutt) is a brilliant young player. I think he has shown over the last couple of years in Under-19 cricket, domestic cricket, how talented he is and how destructive he can be at the top of the order, so I loved opening with him.”

“He is such an exciting young player. My advice is just to play your natural game, if you are feeling it against a particular bowler keep going,” he added.

Swashbuckling South African AB de Villiers chipped in with a 30-ball 51 for the Bangalore outfit, who are searching for their maiden IPL title.

The former South African skipper too was impressed with Padikkal and the new crop of players who have made an early impression in the 53-day tournament.

“Padikkal is a shy and quiet guy but I don’t have to say much really, he looks like a really good talent,” de Villiers said to AFP.

Admiring the domestic talents in this year’s IPL, the RCB talisman remarked, “Very competitive, the young players coming and looking like international players is really exciting to watch.”  

Warner’s team, winners of the 2016 IPL, had also fielded up-and-coming Indian talent in former U-19 skipper Priyam Garg and allrounder Abhishek Sharma.

Garg started on a slight rough patch as he attempted a horrific scoop shot on his IPL debut only for the ball to hit his helmet grill and land on the stumps, after scoring just 12 runs.

But Warner advised the youngsters to carry on playing their natural game.,”Exciting times for Indian cricket and I can’t wait to see what the young players produce,” Warner said to AFP after his team’s loss.

“There were three bizarre dismissals, but I encourage them to keep playing the way, not think too much about it. We will rely on our senior players to guide those guys in the middle.”

“Play your natural game and that’s the only way you can learn.”

Teenage leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi also had a good outing with Kings XI Punjab on Sunday when he returned impressive figures of 1-22 from his four overs.

Kings XI lost the game to the Delhi Capitals in a super over but Bishnoi’s exploits with the ball earned him rich praise from pundits including former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.