Rajat Patidar – The talent which finally shone at the highest level

The Indian Premier League is a platform for young and budding cricketers to showcase their talent, putting their best efforts, and display their A-game in order to build a name. Players of the domestic circuit dream of entering the IPL and giving their best performance in order to fulfill their dream of getting a national call. But not every player gets a chance to shine on the stage.

Rajat Patidar has been a member of Madhya Pradesh’s domestic team since 2015, and he has saved his side from downfalls multiple times in the past. He got an opportunity to play the IPL when he was roped in by RCB in 2021 but played four games for the team. What followed next was heartbreak as he went unsold at the mega-auction this year.

However, he received a call from RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar a month after the auction, in March, informing him that the team was keen to take him on aboard as a replacement player. As a result, Patidar was reassigned to the franchise in place of an injured Luvnith Sisodia. Patidar, who already had a half-century score this season, took the cricketing fraternity by storm when he broke multiple records in the Eliminator match of the IPL 2022 against the Lucknow Supergiants,

He became the first RCB player to hit a century in the IPL Playoffs, and also the first player ever to score a century in the IPL Eliminator in 15 editions of the league. Moreover, he became the first uncapped player to hit a century in the playoff stage. While playing at the No. 3 against LSG, Patidar walked in to bat early in the powerplay after RCB lost their skipper Faf du Plessis for a duck. Neither RCB nor LSG had anticipated the destruction that Patidar followed as Patidar smashed a blistering ton and scored an unbeaten 112 off just 54 to take his team to a glorious victory.

He did not even take a breather and fired with the bat to punish the LSG bowlers in what was a do-or-die match for RCB. After all the star batters failed, he added the crucial runs on board to take his side to a huge total of 207 runs. It was like a dream come true moment for both the team and him as Patidar rescued them from a terrible fall. The 28-year-old will look to empower RCB with his skills in their next game against the Rajasthan Royals to seal a date with the Gujarat Titans in the finals.