The Indian Premier League (IPL) is full of surprises and oddities. The overseas players have accounted for 53 of the 103 centuries, despite occupying a maximum of 4 slots in the playing XI. On the contrary, Indian bowlers have taken 24 of the 37 five-wicket hauls in the league.
However, the biggest oddity of the league will be the fact that Virat Kohli is the only Indian to have scored more than 1000 runs for RCB in the franchise’s 18 years of existence. Even Gujarat Titans, the team which is playing its fourth season, has two Indian players—Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan—with 1000+ runs. Well, things are about to change for RCB.
Rajat Patidar on verge of making history
Virat Kohli, with 8168 runs, is the outright leading run-scorer of the IPL. He has five overseas stars in the 1000-club of RCB, and two Indians—Devdutt Padikkal (962) and Rajat Patidar (960)—are waiting to enter the record books.
Rajat Patidar, the intent machine
If one were to list the best hitters in IPL since 2024, the likes of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sunil Narine, and Heinrich Klaasen would make the list, and the RCB captain’s name might miss the cut. It is bound to happen, when you have a player of Virat Kohli’s class and aura as your teammate.
Rajat Patidar is one of four batters to have scored 500+ runs in IPL at an average above 35 and a strike rate above 160. The other three are Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Shashank Singh.
Patidar also has smashed 41 sixes, compared to 37 fours since the last IPL season. Once again, he is part of an exclusive list comprising the likes of Klaasen and Pooran, to have hit more sixes than fours in the league.
The man behind RCB’s renaissance
RCB were on a seven-game losing streak in IPL 2024, and it was Patidar’s 20-ball 50 which ended the streak and started their 6-game winning streak to reach the playoffs. Patidar was the player of the match against RCB’s win in Chennai and Mumbai, the wins which ended their 17-year and 10-year losing streaks. Can Patidar take his team to the ultimate glory? Beating the unbeaten Delhi Capitals will be a step in the right direction.
RCB vs DC: Live from Bengaluru at 7:30 PM
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