Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Rajat Patidar after Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered an 18-run win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday. Patidar scored a blistering knock of 53 runs off just 20 balls with the help of four fours and five sixes.
The RCB skipper was able to hit the ground running and took the MI bowlers to the cleaners from the get-go. Pathan said Patidar did not allow the opposition to settle into the game and played an instrumental role in helping RCB post an above-par score of 240 runs on the board.
Patidar was on 44 runs off just 11 balls at one stage and did a fantastic job for his team.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “Every batter in the world thinks that when he comes to play in this league, he’s a gangster, but there is one monster, and that is Rajat Patidar. He plays incredible cricket. The Bengaluru captain, the way he is batting, especially in the middle overs, simply does not allow the opposition to settle into the game. He hit a boundary off his very first ball, lofting it over mid-off, and batted with that kind of intent. At one point, it even felt like, given the way he was striking, he might score the fastest fifty in the history of the league.”
Pathan praised Patidar for his impressive performance against MI and said the RCB captain and Shreyas Iyer can obliterate any spin attack.
“The way he played those 20 balls was truly commendable, a fantastic half-century. He does not let spinners settle at all. In fact, there are only two batters in this league who can literally dismantle spin whenever they want, Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer, especially when you talk about middle-order batting.”
The former swing bowler said Patidar looks unstoppable when he leads RCB in the IPL.
“Before the season, many people, even I, felt he was not in form. But in the red jersey, he looks completely different. When Markande came on to bowl in this match, Patidar took him apart. He is known for hitting on the leg-stump line, but this time he even used the reverse switch hit effectively. As a spinner, even if you try to bowl outside off-stump to keep him quiet, he seems fully prepared for that as well.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
