Padikkal returns to form to prop up Karnataka

Nadeem's fifer helps Jharkhand remain in the hunt after Day 2

Not long after his 22nd birthday, Devdutt Padikkal got his domestic season started with a knock reiterating his brilliance: 124 not out from 62 balls in Karnataka's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tie against Maharashtra on October 11.

Seven days and four underwhelming scores later, Padikkal was ruled out of Karnataka's T20 campaign due to an 'illness'. Since then, Padikkal has missed three SMAT games, the whole of Karnataka's Vijay Hazare Trophy run (ten 50-over games), and the first four Ranji Trophy contests before returning for the side against Rajasthan on January 10.

Padikkal looked still as stylish and at ease in his first game back, but scored only 32, and put up 29 in his second game against Kerala. "I was not at all thinking about scoring big runs in the first two games," Padikkal revealed without getting into the nature of the 'illness'. "I wanted to get my feel back."

On Wednesday, he did. The left-hander came up with a form-reviving, game-defining 114 from 175 balls against Jharkhand at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur.

His century powered Karnataka to 300 all out in 89.1 overs on the second day of their Group C Ranji Trophy tie. Karnataka's response to Jharkhand's first-innings tally of 164 put them ahead by 136 runs.

Jharkhand, in their second stint, reached 85 for 2 from 28 overs with Kumar Suraj (34) and Kumar Kushagra (24) undoing some of the damage the team felt after losing a couple of early wickets.

Jharkhand now trail by 51 runs with two days left in the contest.

"It feels good to be back among runs," said Padikkal. "I felt bad that I was sitting out of the games. Not playing for so long can take a toll on you mentally. I am just happy to be back in the side and scoring runs. I was very annoyed with myself for not making my starts (in the first two games) count, but I came into this game with confidence and I decided that I would score."

Score he did with the help of seven boundaries and five sixes en route his second first-class century.

"(R) Samarth has scored, skipper (Mayank Agarwal) has scored, and I am glad that I was able to step into that role today," he said when asked about the significance of his knock. "That's what this team is about, and that's why we have done so well so far. I hope we can continue and get to that title this time."

In the background of Padikkal's return, Shahbaz Nadeem continued to showcase his brilliance, finishing with yet another fifer. But the 33-year-old left-arm spinner's 26th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, which contributed to his career tally of 514 wickets from 131 games, was only a footnote to the growing promise of a future stalwart.