Former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu has lavished praise on Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar after the reigning champions claimed a resounding 92-run win against Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier at Dharamshala on Tuesday.
Patidar scored a splendid knock of 93 runs off only 33 balls with the help of five fours and nine sixes. The RCB captain scored his runs at a whirlwind strike rate of 281.82 and played a key role in helping his team post an above-par score of 254 runs on the board.
The right-hander got off to a sedate start, scoring 22 runs off the first 14 balls but on the next 19 deliveries, he smashed 71 runs. Patidar also had the rub of the green as he was dropped by Kagiso Rabada when he was on 20.
Patidar has scored 486 runs in 13 innings of IPL 2026 at an average of 44.18 and a strike rate of 196.76. Rayudu said no player has improved this much in the last four years as Patidar.
Rayudu said on ESPN Cricinfo, “Yes, it was an extraordinary innings. If you saw, he took some time when he arrived at the crease. He read the wicket and then smashed shots. The special thing about those shots is that this player had smashed a 100 in the 2022 playoffs. He used to play with a closed face of the bat, towards the onside, but he has opened up his bat face, as you can see from the technical aspect. Bat speed has improved. I don’t think that any player has improved this much in four years.
“Even if you compare him to his old self last year, he has also improved significantly, especially against fast bowlers. So, I think this player has worked hard, visualised, manifested, and waited for such innings. It’s because you bring a lot of years of experience, and you play the right innings for your team as a captain.”
Rayudu tipped Patidar’s knock as legendary after the RCB captain took the GT bowlers to the cleaners.
“You can call it a legendary innings in IPL history. We have seen only a few innings in the playoffs because it is a pressure situation; someone bats so freely against quality fast bowlers, spinners, it’s not easy. In my view, this player is going to play not only great innings for RCB but also for Team India in the future.
“The way he batted in Qualifier 1, he’s now in a different league of batters. I think he will play better innings in the future.”
RCB will play the IPL final at Ahmedabad on Sunday.
