Rajat Patidar has underlined his status as one of the IPL’s most ruthless playoff hitters, delivering a stunning unbeaten 93 off only 33 balls to power Royal Challengers Bengaluru to an historic total in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026 against Gujarat Titans at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday. RCB finished on 254/5—an IPL knockout record—while Patidar’s spellbinding captain’s knock rewrote the numbers behind the game’s biggest moments.
Patidar’s record-setting knock and RCB’s charge
- Patidar struck with extreme intent throughout his innings, finishing unbeaten on 93 from 33 deliveries as RCB posted 254/5.
- His performance included five boundaries and nine sixes, with the RCB captain thriving after receiving two chances in the same over from GT fielders.
- Patidar faced overwhelming pressure yet dominated it: he managed only one dot ball in the entire innings, and that ball ultimately became a bye.
- His strike rate of 281.81 is the best by an IPL captain in an innings of 50 or more.
- RCB unleashed a late surge, scoring 86 runs in the final five overs and 114 runs in the last six to put the game beyond Gujarat Titans.
The impact didn’t stop with the innings. In six IPL playoff appearances, Patidar has amassed 338 runs at an average of 112.66 and a strike rate of 193.14. His postseason tally features one century and two fifties, along with 25 fours and 24 sixes—numbers that place him among the most consistent high-impact finishers in knockout cricket.
Patidar’s knockout journey began with an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 Eliminator. He then followed it with a decisive 58 against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 later that season. Since that breakthrough run, he has continued to deliver in pressure fixtures against Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, and now Gujarat Titans—each time raising the ceiling for what a playoff innings can look like.
His six-hitting prowess in the postseason is also notable: only Suresh Raina (40), MS Dhoni (28) and Kieron Pollard (25) have struck more sixes than Patidar in IPL playoff history.
Rajat Patidar’s IPL playoff scores (as listed)
- 112* (54) vs Lucknow Super Giants, Eliminator 2022
- 58 (42) vs Rajasthan Royals, Qualifier 2, 2022
- 34 (22) vs Rajasthan Royals, Eliminator 2024
- 15* (8) vs Punjab Kings, Qualifier 1, 2025
- 26 (16) vs Punjab Kings, Final 2025
- 93* (33) vs Gujarat Titans, Qualifier 1, 2026
Overall playoff numbers: 6 innings, 338 runs, average 112.66, strike rate 193.14, including 1 century, 2 fifties, 25 fours and 24 sixes.
How the RCB innings unfolded
- RCB started aggressively as Venkatesh Iyer attacked Mohammed Siraj before being dismissed for 19 by Kagiso Rabada.
- Rabada also tested Virat Kohli with pace and bounce, but Kohli answered with a fluent 43 off 25 balls.
- With Devdutt Padikkal contributing 30, RCB built momentum and reached 76/1 in the powerplay.
- Gujarat Titans tightened the screws briefly through disciplined spells from Rashid Khan and Jason Holder, removing Kohli and Padikkal in quick succession.
- The match swung decisively in the 14th over bowled by Prasidh Krishna when Patidar, batting on 18 and later on 20, was dropped twice as GT’s fielding faltered under pressure.
- Kulwant Khejroliya then delivered a damaging over, going for 28 runs and featuring misfields, two no-balls and a wide.
- Patidar made full use of the reprieves, launching an assault on both Khejroliya and Rashid Khan, while Krunal Pandya added 43 during a rapid 95-run partnership.
- When Rabada finally struck to dismiss Krunal, Patidar had already seized complete control and carried the momentum to the end.
- He reached his fifty with a towering six off Rabada and continued the onslaught until the final over, producing one of the defining playoff innings in recent IPL memory.
With Patidar at the centre of everything, Bengaluru’s innings didn’t just set a record—it delivered a statement performance in the season’s biggest stage, leaving Gujarat Titans chasing a total that felt almost impossible to reel in.
