Rajat Patidar delivered a magnificent innings with raining sixes and fours on a day when Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) big guns failed to fire. Lucknow Super Giants' formidable bowling line-up seemed weak against the youngster who scored 112 runs in just 54 balls in the Eliminator of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). Patidar’s ton led RCB to a mammoth total of 207 batting first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata which the LSG ultimately failed to chase down. RCB will go to the Qualifiers 2 to face the Rajashtan Royals for a title shot.
Rajat Patidar’s brilliant century and DK’s clutch innings at the end, help us put up a massive total. 👊🏻🙌🏻
It’s your time to shine, bowlers! 💪🏻#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB #LSGvRCB #PlayOffs pic.twitter.com/tGSv3nyZ4W— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 25, 2022
Patidar’s batting brilliance
After RCB lost 3 of their heavy hitters, Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, early in the first innings, the LSG seemed to be in complete control of the game. Then, the 28-year-old player from Indore, Rajat Patidar started taking on the bowlers.
He hit 12 sixes and 7 fours in his innings scoring 90 runs just from the boundaries in only 19 balls.
Patidar broke an array of records during last night’s game. He hit the joint fastest century (in 49 balls) ever scored in the playoffs or knockouts of the IPL and shares the record with Wriddhiman Saha. He also posted the third highest individual score ever by an uncapped player in the IPL and became the first uncapped player to score a century in the playoffs.
A player who remained under the radar
Patidar has been playing domestic cricket for his state Madhya Pradesh since 2015 and has rescued his team from precarious situations several times in the past. His MP teammates describe him as the ‘Sankat Mochan’ (Rescuer) of the team. However, his performances went unnoticed.
Patidar made his IPL debut in 2021 playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He only played four matches in which scored 71 runs with a below par average of 17.5. He went unsold in this year’s auction. However, destiny had something special in store for him.
A month after the IPL 2022 auction, Patidar got a call from the RCB head coach, who wanted to bring him back into the team as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia who was injured. Patidar grabbed the opportunity, and the IPL 2022 season has marked the turnaround in his cricketing career.
Patidar’s batting and RCB’s clever bowling has taken the team to the second Qualifiers of the IPL 2022 where they will face the Rajasthan Royals for the title shot.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: May 26, 2022 12:22 PM IST
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