Rajat Patidar smashed an unbeaten 93 off 33 balls in Ahmedabad to carry Royal Challengers Bengaluru into the IPL final against Gujarat Titans. He cleared the rope nine times and found the boundary five times, turning a qualifier that was drifting into one of the season’s most decisive innings.
That is why washington sundar is being searched now by fans tracking a playoff result that sent Bengaluru through at the exact moment it needed a finisher. Patidar’s knock stood out because several senior batters fell cheaply, and the chase was settled by one player who kept accelerating until the target was out of reach.
The result also adds another chapter to a career that has already bent in unexpected directions. Patidar was once left unsold in the IPL auction, and Mumbai Indians passed on him then, before Royal Challengers Bengaluru brought him in as a replacement in the 2022 season after Luvnith Sisodia was injured. He later answered with 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants and became the first uncapped player in IPL playoff history to score a century.
There was a personal edge to this innings too. Patidar missed a century by seven runs, but his father Manohar said the family cared more about the team winning than the milestone, adding that they had never stood in the way of his choice to pursue cricket rather than the family’s business interests in Indore. Manohar was in Bhopal on work and said he was extremely proud of his son’s performance.
Patidar’s wife, Gunjan, has recently given birth to a baby boy, and the naming ceremony is due soon. The final in Ahmedabad comes just a day before Patidar turns 33, giving him a title shot and a birthday week that could land with far more weight if Bengaluru finish the job.
