He is a great asset to have up the order - Manish Pandey left captivated by Devdutt's meteoric rise

Group A, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019 - The formidable Karnataka bowlers had skittled out Hyderabad for a paltry 187 at the Alur Cricket Stadium. In pursuit of the run-chase, Karnataka were pushed on the back foot instantly when Mohammed Siraj struck twin blows, accounting for KL Rahul and Karun Nair in the very first over. 

Skipper, Manish Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal motored along well, stitching up a valuable 85-run partnership. But once Pandey was gagged by Bavanaka Sandeep, the contest looked set to go down the wire. Devdutt, waging a lone battle for his team, brought up his second half-century of the tournament. Just when the run-chase looked like a walk in the park for the hosts, the southpaw enforced a false shot and holed out to the fielder. The walk to the pavilion seemed like a country mile. He was gutted and disappointed, particularly by the approach he employed at a crucial juncture.

The initial phase of any athlete's life will provide enough insights into how an individual deals with his/her antagonists. However, it is important how the person addresses the setbacks.

It was, without a question, the most heart-wrenching experience for the youngster. Devdutt, with his resilient virtue, took the loss to his strides, and vied to comprehend from the mistakes. 25 days later, the youngster had successfully overturned the bitter memories of the loss to Andhra by pioneering Karnataka to their record 5th Vijay Hazare title. 

Karnataka skipper, Manish Pandey, heaping praise on the maturity shown by Devdutt Padikkal, said: "When you see young guys like Devdutt Padikkal getting the most runs in the tournament, it feels really awesome for me as a captain. I think his mindset changed (in a way that) his focus was to bat till the end and get those big hundreds for us. I think that's what has happened. That one game against Hyderabad hit him quite a bit because he was the only (remaining) batsman to bat till the end. If he had batted through, we would have won. It was a learning game for him. I'm glad he overcame that and batted the way he batted the whole tournament. I think he is a great asset to have up the order and I'm very happy with his performances.”