Who found Jacob Bethell’s chain? Devdutt Padikkal’s kind gesture during high-stakes IPL game
Raipur: Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Jacob Bethell experienced a bizarre sequence of events on Wednesday, losing both his wicket and his jewellery during a high-stakes encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The left-handed batsman was outmanoeuvred by a sharp short delivery from Kartik Tyagi, which resulted in a mistimed pull shot. The ball deflected off Bethell’s helmet and arched directly back to the bowler for a routine catch. In the commotion of the collision, a gold chain worn by Bethell fell to the pitch unnoticed by the departing batsman. The item was subsequently recovered by Devdutt Padikkal, the incoming batsman, who returned it to his teammate.
Despite the early loss of Bethell for 15, the defending champions surged to the top of the Indian Premier League standings behind a masterclass from Virat Kohli. The veteran batsman snapped a streak of consecutive ducks to produce a match-winning, unbeaten 105, securing a six-wicket victory for Bengaluru.
Kohli Breaks Records and Slumps
Kohli’s 60-ball performance anchored a successful pursuit of 193 runs. During the innings, the 37-year-old surpassed Chris Gayle to become the fastest player to reach 14,000 career runs in T20 cricket, achieving the milestone in 409 innings.
After scoring his first run of the match, Kohli punctuated the air in a self-deprecating celebration, acknowledging his recent struggles.
"I just love batting," Kohli said following the victory. "What an honour to be playing at this level. This is all I have done all my life. I want to make the most of every day."
Kohli later admitted that the recent run of poor form had weighed on him as he entered the crease.
"There's a reason why people say pressure is a privilege," Kohli added. "Good pressure always makes you improve your game. You go a level up, you keep improving your game. I was nervous, I just wanted to get off the mark."
The Path to Victory
Following Bethell’s exit, Kohli orchestrated a 92-run second-wicket partnership with Padikkal, who contributed 39. Although Kolkata missed an opportunity to dismiss Kohli when he was dropped on 21, the batsman capitalised on the reprieve, reaching his half-century in 32 deliveries.
The Bengaluru chase faced brief turbulence as Padikkal, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Tim David were dismissed in quick succession—the latter falling to a spectacular diving catch by Manish Pandey. However, Kohli remained composed, reaching his ninth IPL century before Jitesh Sharma struck the winning runs.
Kolkata’s Defensive Struggles
Earlier in the day, the Knight Riders posted a competitive total of 192-4. Angkrish Raghuvanshi led the scoring with 71 runs off 46 balls, supported by Cameron Green’s 32 and a late-inning surge from Rinku Singh, who remained unbeaten on 49. The Bengaluru bowling attack saw Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, and Rasikh Salam claim one wicket apiece.
The result marks Bengaluru’s eighth win in 12 matches, allowing them to overtake the Gujarat Titans at the summit of the league table on net run-rate. Conversely, the three-time champion Kolkata side now faces a precarious path to the postseason, having suffered its sixth loss in 11 games.
The top four teams will advance to the playoffs, concluding with the final in Ahmedabad on May 31.
With inputs from PTI