Ahead of IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Gujarat Titans at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, RCB captain Rajat Patidar made a point about how he wants to be seen as a batter. He said he would like to change the narrative that he is naturally a better player of spin, insisting that—at least this season—his performances have come more readily against pace. “People think I handle spinners better, but if someone asks me, I always say I prefer fast bowlers,” Patidar said. The numbers, he added, support that belief.
Patidar’s season numbers set the stage
This IPL, Patidar has struck 41 sixes, including 27 that have come against fast bowling. In 14 matches, he has made 486 runs. Even those figures, though, don’t fully describe the influence he has had on matches. Batting at No. 4, he has recorded five half-centuries and has maintained a strike rate of 196.76—evidence of both acceleration and control when RCB need momentum.
On Tuesday evening, with a laser show lighting up the ground in Dharamsala, Patidar delivered the kind of innings that takes over a game from the outset. The 32-year-old produced a standout knock of 93 off just 33 balls, one of the most thrilling contributions of the season. The innings was defined by timing and relentless intent, with nine sixes in total—seven of them struck against pace. One shot in particular, off Kagiso Rabada during the seventh over, illustrated the confidence behind his batting.
After rocking onto the back foot, Patidar lifted a good-length delivery over covers for maximum. It was a clean, effortless swing that summed up the authority he showed throughout his spell at the crease. Importantly, the innings didn’t erupt immediately. He began with steadier singles and calm accumulation, rotating the strike and letting the situation settle as RCB worked their way into the chase.
Key turning points inside RCB’s innings
- RCB lost two well-set batters—Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli—in quick succession, prompting Patidar to adopt a patience-first mindset rather than chasing boundaries from ball one.
- In the 11th over, Jason Holder dropped short, and Patidar shifted his weight decisively to the back foot, pulling the ball deep into the stands over mid-wicket; the hit also took RCB to the hundred and eased mounting pressure.
- In the 12th over, Patidar nearly went big against Prasidh Krishna, but an inside edge carried past Jos Buttler for a bye, while moments later a high ballooned leading edge landed safely between converging fielders.
- Still in the 12th over, a pull shot almost ended the innings, but Rabada failed to take a straightforward chance in the deep—turning what could have been a critical wicket into a lucky escape for Patidar.
- Patidar’s acceleration began in earnest in the 15th over against Kulwant Khejroliya, where a mistimed lofted effort still cleared the ropes; he then followed it with a six over long leg, using the delivery’s angle to maximum effect.
- He completed the over by finding the boundary again, collecting 28 runs in a momentum-shifting passage that swung the contest firmly in RCB’s favour.
- Rashid Khan offered no relief next, as Patidar clubbed a slightly short delivery into the long-on boundary and then ended the over with an inside-out six over cover, moving with the spin and striking with freedom.
- Against Rabada, Patidar quickly escalated the tempo—racing to a blazing fifty from 21 balls with a brutal pull over deep mid-wicket, and then immediately striking a back-foot drive over cover that was both rare and perfectly executed for that pace.
- Mohammed Siraj was struck next: a wide full toss was dispatched to the boundary at backward point for six, followed by another over-pitched delivery sent away for four, as Patidar entered a phase where scoring chances almost always turned into boundaries.
- In the final over of RCB’s innings, Patidar punished Prasidh Krishna with a full toss on the hips that sailed over backward square leg for six, then struck another huge hit back over the bowler to push his score into the nineties.
By the time the innings ended, Patidar had effectively changed the pace of the match almost on his own. He absorbed pressure, benefited from a couple of moments of luck, and then dismantled both pace and spin with equal conviction. His 93 wasn’t simply a tally of runs—it was a display of fearless batting, timed to perfection and powered by ruthless intent.
