Rajat Patidar Shreyas Iyer. Image Credits: AFP
Rajat Patidar was the toast of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2026. This game was played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on May 26, and thanks to his performance, Patidar has received rich praise from ex-India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin.
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill had won the toss and chose to bowl first in Dharamshala, given that it is a very good chasing ground. However, RCB knew that they had to post a big total to avert that danger, and their batters came out with a plan right from the start.
Rajat Patidar leads the way as RCB posts a record total in IPL playoffs
Venkatesh Iyer demonstrated his purpose with a 7-ball 19 as RCB got ready to face the GT bowling. Virat Kohli scored 43 runs in 25 balls with five fours and one six, while Devdutt Padikkal continued the trend with 30 runs in 19 balls with five fours.
But after Kohli and Padikkal were removed in the same over, captain Rajat Patidar's comeback proved to be the RCB's best innings. Nine sixes and five fours were among his 93* in 33 balls. He received excellent support from Jitesh Sharma (15* in 5 balls) and Krunal Pandya (43). In 20 overs, RCB scored 254/5, the most in an IPL playoff game.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Creates New World Record In IPL
Gujarat Titans' batting collapses under the pressure of chasing a record target
For a time, Jos Buttler (29) and Sai Sudharsan (14) were formidable, but GT's innings never gained momentum. Rahul Tewatia's 68 helped GT score 162 after they lost a ton of wickets. For RCB, Jacob Duffy collected 3/39, while Krunal Pandya, Rasikh Salam, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar each took two wickets.
With their 92-run triumph, RCB advanced to the IPL 2026 final, which will be held in Ahmedabad on May 31.
Rajat Patidar receives brilliant praise from Ravichandran Ashwin for his knock
Rajat Patidar's batting and captaincy abilities have impressed former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. With a remarkable strike rate of 281.82, the RCB captain smashed five boundaries and nine sixes. His 28-run dismissal of Kulwant Khejroliya in a single over was one of his batting highlights. However, the most memorable moment against Kagiso Rabada was in the 17th over.
Shortly after reaching his blistering 21-ball half-century, Patidar hit an incredible backfoot six off a quick delivery outside off stump.
Watch the video below:
Ashwin was mightily impressed with that shot and called it the “shot of the day” and even suggested it could be the “shot of the tournament.”
“That backfoot six Rajat hit off Kagiso Rabada was the straight-up shot of the day, probably even a contender for shot of the tournament. How he even managed to generate that power from there is beyond me,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Ravichandran Ashwin calls Rajat Patidar a better captain than Shreyas Iyer
In the same conversation, Ravichandran Ashwin also talked about Rajat Patidar’s captaincy acumen and also compared the same with Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer. He stated that he felt that before this knock, Shreyas Iyer was ahead in captaincy and batting discussions, but Patidar has now caught up with him.
“Before this knock, Shreyas Iyer was probably a bit ahead in the captaincy and batting conversations, but after tonight, Patidar is right up there. We all know how good Rajat Patidar is against spin, but the way he handled fast bowling today was seriously impressive too.
And those sixes he hit off Rashid Khan… I’ve seen very few batters who can get onto the front foot, get right to the pitch of the ball, and still loft Rashid over extra cover for six like that. Pure class. Cometh the man, cometh the hour,” he added.
RCB has a chance to create history in IPL 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached their second IPL final in a row and now have a chance to win their second Indian Premier League in succession. If they manage to achieve this feat, they will join the league of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
CSK and MI are the only two franchises to win two successive IPL titles. CSK did it in 2010 and 2011, and MI won the IPL in 2019 and 2020.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin Opens RCB Doors
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