Ton-up Patidar powers RCB to IPL qualifiers

It’s now no secret that the Indian Premier League is a fantastic stage for unheralded domestic talents to make a name for themselves. Several players have become stars purely by using the tournament as a launchpad. Unheralded Rajat Patidar became the latest to grab that opportunity, cracking a career-changing century that laid the foundation for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s march into Qualifier 2 here on Wednesday.

Having joined the Challengers camp in April for a base price of just Rs 20 lakh as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia, Patidar had given a glimpse of his talent with a half-century against Gujarat Titans in his second game of the season and then a fine 48 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he needed something substantial to make a loud statement.

He did so at a sold-out, raucous Eden Gardens in the Eliminator clash against Lucknow Super Giants. Batting with a purpose and without any fear whatsoever despite superstars falling around him, the 28-year-old Patidar cracked an unbeaten 112 off just 54 balls (12x7, 7x4) as the Challengers posted a strong 207/4 in 20 overs.

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Patidar and the Royal Challengers, however, couldn’t breathe easy as an inspired KL Rahul (79, 58b, 3x4, 5x6) and Deepak Hooda (45, 26b, 1x4, 2x6) threatened to spoil their party with a dangerous partnership.

They attacked relentlessly in the Power Play, maintained a good tempo in the middle overs and set themselves for a late launch with intelligent batting.

But RCB skipper Faf du Plessis made some good bowling changes to derail their effort and the rest of the pack then held their nerve wonderfully in a tense chase, restricting Super Giants to 193/6 for a 14-run win and book a date against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 at Ahmedabad on Friday.

Earlier, joining forces with Virat Kohli after du Plessis departed for a golden duck in the opening over itself, Patidar took some time to get going but the moment he got his eye in, he was unstoppable. After picking up a couple of boundaries off Avesh Khan, Patidar kick-started the party by smashing Krunal Pandya for 16 runs in the sixth over.

Patidar was then forced to tone down his aggression a bit as a struggling Kohli and Glenn Maxwell departed in quick succession. But even then Patidar motored along quite smoothly in the company of Dinesh Karthik (37 n.o., 23b, 5x4, 1x6). The duo, riding their luck as butter-fingered Super Giants dropped them multiple times, kept picking up the odd boundary to stay in the game.

Patidar then turned on the accelerator in stunning fashion in the 16th over, blasting the dangerous Ravi Bishnoi for 26 runs. It was the momentum shift both Patidar and RCB needed, and that had a positive effect on Karthik too as the veteran also found his range. Together, Patidar and Karthik laid siege to Lucknow bowlers, forging an unbeaten 92-run stand as RCB surged past the tall score of 200.

It looked like that might not be enough for a majority of LSG chase but RCB kept it tidy when it mattered most to end the Eliminator jinx after having fallen at the same occasion on two previous occasions.