Rajat Patidar led from the front with what could well be remembered as one of the standout knocks of the season, powering Royal Challengers Bengaluru into a second straight IPL final. The RCB skipper was in sublime touch during Qualifier 1, hammering an unbeaten 93 off just 33 deliveries in a breathtaking display of clean hitting. His innings, studded with five fours and nine sixes, completely dismantled the Gujarat Titans bowling attack and lifted RCB to a massive 254/5. Patidar’s assault shifted the game heavily in Bengaluru’s favour by the innings break itself, leaving GT with a mountain to climb. The bowlers then completed the job in emphatic fashion, striking early and never allowing the 2022 champions to recover. RCB’s pacers maintained relentless pressure throughout the chase, sealing a dominant victory and underlining why the defending champions remain firm favourites for the title once again.
RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat spoke about the growth in Patidar’s batting over the last two seasons, saying the RCB skipper has worked hard to prove he is far more than just a strong player of spin. Bobat recalled jokingly calling Patidar a “spin-basher” last year, adding that the batter probably took it as a challenge and has since shown he can dominate all kinds of bowling attacks.
“I remember at some point last season I called him a spin-basher and I think he got a bit annoyed with me because I was implying it was only spin,” Bobat said with a laugh. “He’s probably trying to prove a point to me now,” he added.
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Patidar smashed 7 sixes against the Titans in Dharamsala.
“Rajat Patidar got a fearless intent”
Bobat shed light on the work that has gone into Patidar’s development at RCB, crediting the coaching influence of Dinesh Karthik and Andy Flower in refining his game. Bobat pointed to Patidar’s clean ball-striking and fearless approach as key reasons behind his rapid rise, while also linking his growth to RCB’s broader push to build a more aggressive, intent-driven batting identity over the past couple of seasons.
“He’s worked incredibly hard on his game with both DK [Dinesh Karthik] and Andy [Flower]. One thing about Rajat is he middles the ball a lot. Whether it’s pace or spin, front foot or back foot, the ball hits the middle of his bat quite often. That’s usually a very good sign. He’s got really sound basics and a fearless intent. We’ve tried hard over the last couple of years to make that the identity of our team,” he added.
