Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar stood up to the occasion with a blazing unbeaten 93 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 26. Chasing a massive target of 255, GT lost half the side for just 51 runs in the fifth over. As GT had no chance of making a comeback, Patidar brought in Romario Shepherd as impact player instead of leg-spinner Suyash Sharma. He bowled just one over and went for 15 runs. After the thumping 92-run win in Dharamsala, Patidar revealed that he chose Shepherd over Suyash as he was already planning for the final in Ahmedabad on May 31.
“I was just checking that if we go in the finals and how Romario will bowl in the middle overs, so that was the plan behind it. It will be a good recovery and let's go for the finals,” Patidar said in the post-match presentation.
‘Good body language’ discussed in team meetings
Patidar hit nine sixes and five fours in his 33-ball 93. The ‘Player of the match’ revealed that there was no clear plan to go after the GT bowlers but they wanted to intimidate them with their body language which was decided in the team meeting.
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“It's not a clear plan, but we're ready for it because you have to show some body language that we are coming for you. That was there in every batsman. So we had a chat in the meeting, we have to give a good body language and the attacking mindset. It was a big stage, Qualifier 1, the way we played, the way we dominated in this game, I think that was superb,” the RCB skipper said.
Patidar walks in with a ‘clear mind’
Patidar was happy with the way he batted. He went with a clear intent to attack as he said in the pre-game press conference and didn’t put a prize on his wicket.
“The way of my batting is similar. Starting, I take some few balls, 8-10 balls to see how the wicket is behaving and what the ball is doing. And after that, I have a clear mind that how I have to go about it and I am not worried about the wicket. I always like to put bowler under pressure,” said the middle-order batter.
This is the second consecutive season RCB have qualified for the final. They will be looking to defend the title against any of the three team that progresses to the final.