Beyond Rajat Patidar’s match-winning captain’s knock

By K.R. Nayar 

Rajat Patidar’s unbeaten 93 that carried Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) into the final was not just a captain’s knock. It was much more than a match-winning innings played by a captain to book his team’s place in the final. It was majestic and explosive. From being an anchor, he turned into an accelerator. He transformed the name of Royal Challengers into royal conquerors.

While admiring the brilliance of his knock, we may have overlooked a few things. The margin of victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) was 92 runs, one run less than his 93, which came off just 33 balls with nine sixes and five boundaries. But more valuable than the runs he scored was how it boosted his team’s total and put GT under pressure.

So sharp was Patidar’s intent towards setting a big total that throughout his knock there was only one dot ball, and that too fetched his team a bye. Very few may have noticed that his strike rate of 281.81 is the highest strike rate for any captain scoring 50 runs or more in an IPL match, edging out Faf du Plessis’s 278.26 for RCB in 2024. In that match, Virat Kohli was deputy to du Plessis, and Patidar was just one of the batters in the squad. Today, he is the scriptwriter.

Patidar walked in when RCB were 93 for 2 in 8.2 overs and then he went on to score 93 runs. When he walked back after his knock, his team had scored 254 for 5, the highest team total ever recorded in an IPL playoff. That record was enough to pressurise the GT batters and question their ability to achieve the target. It also meant GT would need to perform a lot of acrobatics with the bat to cross the line. 

Patidar also displayed the art of demolishing an attack. So dominant were his shots that after his first six in the 12th over, eight of his nine sixes that flew over the ropes came in the final six overs of the innings. He silenced his critics who had remarked that he was only a hitter of spinners through a spectacular six off Kagiso Rabada in the 17th over. He rose onto his toes to a back-of-a-length delivery and hit it over extra cover. Virat Kohli was seen covering his mouth in disbelief while admiring that shot.

To further confirm his skill against spinners, Patidar picked Rashid Khan, one of the greatest spinners, in the 16th over to hit three sixes off him. An extra-cover drive off Khan stood out as the best among them.

It is ideal to describe Patidar as a calm disruptor. When a captain bats at a strike rate of above 280, the need to play with caution becomes irrelevant and belief becomes contagious. In a team named “Royal,” he could have been crowned King—but that throne belongs to King Kohli. After Patidar’s unbeaten 93, he deserves to be called a General, as he has marshalled this team to two finals and even won the title once.

At 32, Patidar has not sparkled at the international level, having played only three Tests and one One Day International. But he is among the few to have turned into a superstar from the IPL. RCB failed to win the title despite being led by iconic players. But Patidar, in his first year as captain last season, lifted the trophy carrying both young domestic talents and the heavyweight veterans together.

In the IPL, where players indulge in chest-thumping celebrations, Patidar completes his job with a focus on the process. With one more push as a captain and a player on May 31 in the final, he can lift the trophy once again. Then it will be the RCB fans who will be chest-thumping and thanking a General who turned challengers into conquerors.