India, Jan. 12 -- Devdutt Padikkal's purple patch with the bat rolled on as he delivered another standout performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy on Monday. The left-hander played a classy half-century against Mumbai, a knock that not only steadied his side but also pushed him past the 700-run mark for the season. With that effort, Padikkal etched his name into the record books by becoming the first batter to cross 700 runs in a single Vijay Hazare Trophy edition on two separate occasions, having previously achieved the feat in the 2020-21 season.

The milestone further underlines Padikkal's consistency in the tournament. Only a handful of batters-Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Narayan Jagadeesan and Karun Nair-have managed to score...