Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal said he was relieved to see Tim David take charge of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) innings, as the power-hitter hit an unbeaten 70 off 25 balls to take the side to a commanding 250/3 against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2026 clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

Padikkal, who struck a fluent half-century off 29 balls, admitted the innings needed acceleration at the right time. "I think at the strategic timeout as well, we had to, we knew that we had to keep going and it was an important phase from there on and I'm probably glad that I got out because the way Tim went from there, it was incredible," he said to broadcasters in mid-innings break.

He also explained that the pitch demanded caution early on before it became better to bat on. "I think it was a bit tacky early on, especially with the new ball wasn't coming on that well and we have to make sure that we don't lose too many wickets. We understand that in the Chinnaswamy, if we have wickets in hand in the last five, six overs, we can really maximize and that's what we did," said Padikkal.