Rajat Patidar had nearly turned down RCB's offer as a replacement player in IPL 2022 as his wedding was scheduled around the same time.
Key Points
- Rajat Patidar smashed a blistering 93 from 33 balls to power RCB to a second successive IPL final.
- Patidar was among one of only three players retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction for a hefty Rs 11 crore.
- He boasts a stunning record in IPL playoff matches, with 338 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 193.14.
Rajat Patidar starred with a match-winning knock for the ages to steer Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their second IPL final in a row, after they thrashed Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 match in Dharamsala on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Captain Patidar led from the front, with a blistering 93 from 33 balls to power RCB to a massive 254/5 after they were put into bat.
Gujarat Titans' batting line-up crumbled under the pressure of the huge run chase as they folded for a lowly 162.
Patidar, who turns 33 on Monday, June 1, 2026, just a day after the IPL 2026 final, has the golden chance to emulate legends Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, -- the only two captains to win back to back IPL titles.
It has been a fairytale ride for Patidar's IPL career over the last few years.
The Madhya Pradesh right-hander had scripted history by leading RCB to their maiden IPL title last season -- ending a long and frustrating 18-year wait for the cricket-crazy fans in Bengaluru.
Believe it or not, it was the same Patidar, whom RCB had released after a below-par debut season in 2021, and showed no interest in buying him back at the IPL 2022 auction.
However, in a miraculous turnaround, his career got a second wind when he was called up as an injury replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia. There was no looking back as Patidar made sure to grab the opportunity with both hands.
When Patidar Nearly Rejected RCB
He had nearly turned down RCB's offer as his wedding was scheduled around the same time. After consulting his family and close friends Patidar took the difficult call to postpone the wedding and dashed off to join RCB as a replacement player in IPL 2022.
That one decision turned out to be the biggest turning point of Patidar's career. In only his second game, he hit a quickfire 52 from 32 balls against Gujarat Titans -- his maiden IPL fifty -- to cement his place in the playing XI.
Patidar became a huge RCB fan favourite after he smashed a blistering 112 not out from 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator match to guide RCB to a 14 run win. He carried his form in the Qualifier 2 matct against Rajasthan Royals with a blazing 58 from 42 balls but RCB ended losing the game by seven wickets.
No longer would RCB make the mistake of releasing Patidar again, after he finished IPL 2022 as the team's third-highest run-scorer, amassing 333 runs in eight games at a staggering strike rate of 152.75.
But his career suffered another major setback when he was forced to missed the entire IPL 2023 season because of a heel injury.
Kohli Backed Patidar As RCB Captain
Following surgery and strong showing in domestic cricket followed by a century for India A against England Lions, he earned a maiden call-up to the Indian Test team. Once again he was called up as a replacement player, taking the place of his RCB team-mate Virat Kohli after he had pulled out of the Test series against England in early 2024 for personal reasons.
But his first Test series didn't go to plan as he managed just 63 runs in six innings before he was axed.
Patidar bounced back strongly in IPL 2024, raking up 395 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 177.13.
After a slow start to the season with 50 runs from the first four games, he exploded with five half-centuries in the next seven innings to firmly establish himself as the new star of the RCB's batting line-up.
It came as no surprise when he was named as one of only three players retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction for a hefty Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million).
The franchise then further reposed their trust in Patidar by appointing him as the new captain ahead of IPL 2025 -- a decision that raised many eyebrows at the time.
'The way you have grown in the franchise and the way you have performed, you have made a place in all the hearts of the fans of RCB, all over India and they get really excited to watch you play, so this is very well deserved. You have earned the right to be in this position,' Kohli declared in support of Patidar.
The gamble paid handsomely. Under Patidar's calm captaincy and Coach Andy Flower's shrewd guidance, RCB scripted history when they defied all odds to finally get their hands on the IPL trophy.
After narrowly missing out thrice in the finals in the past -- in 2009, 2011 and 2016 -- RCB finally had broken the glass ceiling.
Patidar's understated captaincy style seemed to bring out the best of RCB's world class players as the likes of Kohli, Phil Salt, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a starring roles in the team's maiden IPL triumph.
This season too, defending champions RCB continued from where they left off. With nine wins from 14 matches RCB finished as table toppers to seal their place in Qualifier 1, edging out Gujarat Titans and SRH on the net run rate.
In Qualifier 1, RCB came out all guns blazing to smash Titans out of the park.
Patidar's Drop Proves Costly For Titans
Patidar once again headlined RCB's demolition job with the bat. Despite losing a few early wickets, RCB never took their foot off the pedal. Patidar took time to going, scoring 22 from the first 14 balls.
He was dropped when on 20 from 12 balls after Kagiso Rabada floored an easy catch at deep square leg off Prasidh Krishna in the 14th over.
That drop proved to be a game-turning moment as Patidar unleashed a stunning counter-attack in the last few overs, smashing 71 from the next 19 balls at a strike rate of over 373.68.
Remarkably, Patidar played one dot ball in his entire innings of 33 balls which was a play and miss. His strike-rate of 281.81 is the highest for any captain in an innings of 50 or more in IPL history.
He boasts of a stunning record in IPL playoff matches, with 338 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 193.14. His 24 sixes in the IPL playoffs is the fourth highest by a batter in the IPL after Suresh Raina (40 sixes), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28) and Kieron Pollard (25).
Few would bet against RCB in Sunday's final especially with Captain Patidar in this unstoppable form.
