It was a remarkable day for Patidar on the field as he hit an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls to lead his team to a whopping 207/4 in their 20 overs.
Rajat Patidar became the first uncapped player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to score a century in the playoffs on Wednesday for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In his team’s Eliminator match against Lucknow Super Giants at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, the batter made this accomplishment. After 20 overs, Patidar had hit an unbeaten 112 off just 54 balls to lead his team to a total of 207/4, which was a tremendous total by any standards. To his team’s credit, he became the first member of his squad to score a century in the playoffs, surpassing Chris Gayle’s 89-run tonne during a 2011 League match against Mumbai Indians.
Previously, Manish Pandey scored the most points by an uncapped player in IPL playoffs/knockout matches in 2014. He then went on to score 94 runs in the finals for Kolkata Knight Riders against Punjab Kings.
In total, he is the fourth player in the league without a cap to score a century. 114 against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in 2009 was an undefeated score for Manish Pandey. It’s also worth noting that Paul Valthaty (120* against Chennai Super Kings in 2011) and Devdutt Padikkal (101* in 2021) are the only two uncapped players to score an IPL century.
In the history of the IPL playoffs/knockout games, five centuries have been scored. While Shane Watson (117* in the 2018 finals for Chennai Super Kings against Sunrisers Hyderabad) is a notable name in this group, Wriddhiman Saha (115* for Punjab Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 finals) is another (113 for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 in 2012).
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants by an innings and 92 runs in the Eliminator match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, thanks to Rajat Patidar’s unbroken century and a 92-run stand with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik.
The RCB hitting order had a great day as they hammered the opponents. The batters put on quite a show for LSG, and they had no answer for it.
Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a bad start when Lucknow Super Giants sent them in to bat first. They lost skipper Faf Du Plessis for a duck. After wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock caught the large fish behind, pacer Mohsin Khan extended his hot streak by bowling the enormous fish back to the pavilion.
This first-innings wobble meant that Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar would now have to rebuild the innings. LSG hitters were taken to the cleaners by both batters. Kohli smashed two excellent extras. Patidar hammered pacer Avesh Khan for two fours in the fifth over before ramping up the pressure on spinner Krunal Pandya in the sixth over, hammering him for four fours and a six.
Riding high on a strong 52/1 at the conclusion of six overs, Kohli (18) and Pattinson (33) were looking impressive for RCB.
Their 50-run streak was shortly completed. The breakthrough came in the ninth over of the innings when Avesh Khan caught Virat Kohli trying an uppercut at third man for 25 off 24. End of a 66-run partnership between the two
After Ravi Bishnoi was dismissed for a six by Glenn Maxwell in the 10th over, the batsman made it obvious that he had no intention of letting up. RCB were 84/2 after 10 overs, with Patidar (49) and Maxwell (8) contributing.
Soon after, Patidar hit his second half-century of the season off 28 balls. In the very next delivery, Evin Lewis caught Maxwell at deep square leg and Krunal Pandya dismissed him for 9 runs.
Mahipal Lomror found himself in the middle of the action. A boundary from the second last ball of the 12th over, bowled by Dushmantha Chameera, helped RCB cross the hundred-run mark, followed by a four at the conclusion of that over. When the batter was caught at extra cover by skipper KL Rahul, the duo continued to rebuild the innings and put on a 29-run stand. Lomror was the only player to be ejected with a 14-of-9 record.
Dinesh Karthik, the in-form batsman, was the next player to go up against the wall. In the 15th over, he escaped a catch attempt off a delivery from Mohsin Khan.
There were 39 runs scored by RCB in the final five overs of the 15-over innings, putting them at 123/4. In the final overs, Karthik (5) and Patidar (66) needed to help their team’s total rise.
Patidar smashed a six off the second ball of the 16th over off a Bishnoi delivery. With 4,6,4,6, he smashed his way to 92 in just 44 balls. RCB scored 27 runs off the over to reach a dominating 150/4.
Avesh Khan was bowled by Karthik, who joined Patidar and hit three fours in the next over. With 15 runs in the 17th over and 42 runs in the 16th and 17th overs, RCB had the upper hand. It took just 23 balls for the pair to put together a 50-run partnership.
The next target was Mohsin. Patidar fought off a catch attempt and scored his first IPL century in 49 balls after the following delivery. The over yielded eight runs, while the three overs produced fifty runs.
Karthik capitalized on Chameera’s LBW attempt in the 19th over by slamming a six and four in the following over. With the overyielding 21 runs, Patidar also hit a six and a four.
In the final over, Avesh Khan was brought in to bowl, and Karthik promptly struck him for a four. RCB ended their 20 overs with a score of 207/4. Karthik (37) and Patidar (112) put on an undefeated stand of 92 runs off 41 balls in the final five overs, with 84 coming in the final five overs.
Mohammed Khan was the best LSG bowler, with an average of 1-25.50 Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, and Krunal Pandya were each awarded a single scalp.
