Rajat Patidar has carried a completely different kind of confidence into this IPL season. After steering Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a title triumph in IPL 2025, the RCB skipper has been attacking the bowlers from the start in IPL 2026. In a blockbuster encounter against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, Patidar launched his innings in the 12th over by launching Mayank Markande for a sequence of three straight maximums.
Momentum didn’t slow down in the very next over. In the 13th over, Shardul Thakur bowled to Virat Kohli and Patidar, and both batters struck boundaries as the scoring stayed brisk. Patidar then launched another big hit, clearing backward point for a towering six, while Thakur also conceded three wides in the same over—helping it turn into a 23-run passage. RCB reached the 150-run milestone in just 12.1 overs.
Patidar also took aim at Trent Boult, striking a four and a six to help bring up a 50-run partnership in only 14 deliveries. The skipper kept going with his rampage, notching his half-century off 17 balls, powered by four boundaries and five sixes. However, the innings ended when Mitchell Santner found the breakthrough, dismissing Patidar for 53 off 20 balls, including four fours and five sixes. Tilak Varma held the catch behind the stumps. By the time Patidar departed, RCB had posted 194/3 in 16 overs.
Patidar’s rapid 17-ball fifty allowed him to level Adam Gilchrist’s long-standing mark for the quickest fifty by a captain in IPL history. The milestone underscored how dominant the RCB skipper had been, even though the innings eventually came to an end.
As for the match itself, half-centuries from the RCB batting core drove the momentum. Virat Kohli made 50, Phil Salt struck 78, and Patidar contributed 53 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru racked up a massive 240 for 4 against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League game on Sunday.
Salt and Kohli put on a 120-run stand for the opening wicket, setting the platform early. Later, Patidar teamed up with Tim David, who finished unbeaten on 35 off 16 balls, to accelerate in the back end and ensure Bengaluru’s total became extremely difficult to chase.
The chase of a big score began with Kohli finding his rhythm quickly. He produced a standout flick off his pads to hit Trent Boult for a flat six over deep square leg. While Kohli continued to pick up boundaries intermittently, it was Salt who took charge of the acceleration and pushed the run rate higher.
From early on, the England batter used the width and pace to punish the fast bowlers, striking Boult and Hardik Pandya for boundaries. Boult was later sent back over the ropes for a maximum as well, while Mitchell Santner endured a rough spell—being struck for three straight sixes when the New Zealand captain misjudged his lengths.
With RCB’s charge taking shape—particularly as the team reached 50 in only 4.2 overs—Mumbai Indians were forced to change their approach. Jasprit Bumrah, who usually doesn’t sit out wicketless phases in the powerplay, was brought back for a second over.
Thanks to some wayward bowling, Patidar came close to matching the fastest half-century record in IPL history before finally reaching the mark off 17 balls. He started by lofting Shardul Thakur over cover for a four, then punished Mayank Markande’s poor line and length by smashing the leg-spinner for three consecutive sixes.
Within moments, Patidar had raced to 34 off just nine deliveries, underlining the aggressive intent that defined his innings in the clash.
