Rajat Patidar destroyed Mayank Markande on Thursday, smacking the SRH spinner for four sixes in a row.
Rajat Patidar’s Indian Premier League career has been a roller-coaster ride! Acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2021, he only managed to register 71 runs in four matches in IPL 2021, and was released ahead of the auction in 2022. He went unsold in the auction, but was later signed by RCB mid-season as a replacement for injured Luvnith Sisodia for ₹20 lakhs.
Rajat Patidar in action on Thursday.
In IPL 2022, he bagged a record-breaking ton in the Eliminator match against Lucknow Super Giants, as he smacked a match-winning knock of 112* off 54 balls. He became the first uncapped player to get a century in the IPL playoffs, and it also became the joint-fastest century (49 balls) by a player in the playoff stage, he equalled the record of Wriddhiman Saha, who also scored a 49-ball ton for PBKS in IPL 2014 finals.
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The 30-year-old was once again in good form on Thursday, smacking a half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Patidar slammed 50 runs off 20 balls, packed with two fours and five sixes, as RCB reached 206/7 in 20 overs.
He showcased his shot selection to its fullest ability in the 11th over against spinner Mayank Markande, smacking four sixes in a row. Receiving an overpitched tossed up full delivery, Patidar first launched Markande over long-off for a 86m six, followed by another maximum. Then he clobbered him over deep midwicket to make it three out of three, followed by another six over deep extra cover.
Here is the video:
Patidar is currently RCB’s fourth highest run-scorer this season with 211 runs in nine matches. Virat Kohli is RCB’s highest run-scorer with 430 runs, and he is also the Orange Cap leader. Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis (264) and Dinesh Karthik (262) are in second and third place respectively. Patidar will be looking to add more runs to his tally as RCB look to revive their crumbling IPL 2024 campaign.
