Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli claims that he was very much impressed with Patidar’s knock in the eliminator game against Lucknow Super Giants.
Virat Kohli Impressed with Patidar’s knock
Winning the toss LSG made RCB to bat first where captain Faf loses his wicket without scoring a run. Soon Virat Kohli too loses his wicket for 25 runs. At this stage youngster Rajat Patidar stepped up and provided the much-needed innings by scoring his debut IPL century.
Rajat Patidar scored an unbeaten 112 runs from 54 balls which leads RCB to score 207 runs at the end of the 20 overs. With Josh Hazlewood’s crucial triple wickets RCB won the match by 14 runs and qualified for the qualifier 2.
Notably, Pradesh was drafted into the side midway through the tournament as an injury replacement for Luvnith Sisodia.
After the stunning victory, Patidar had a conversation with former RCB captain Virat Kohli. The latter heaped massive praise on youngster, calling the youngster’s knock ‘very, very special’.
“The magnitude of the game was so big that I was feeling the tension in the air because I have been in those situations where you have to cross the line as a team. What he did was very, very special, I don’t think that anyone should take that for granted.
You should understand the excellence of the innings and appreciate as a cricketer to watch an innings like that,” said Kohli in a post-match chat video with Patidar uploaded on the IPL website.
💬 💬 “Haven’t seen many better innings than the one Rajat played.”
DO NOT MISS: @imVkohli chats with the man of the moment, Rajat Patidar, after @RCBTweets‘ win over #LSG in Eliminator. 👏 👏 – By @RajalArora
Full interview 📹 🔽 #TATAIPL | #LSGvRCBhttps://t.co/ofEtg6I3Ud pic.twitter.com/TG8weOuZUo
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2022
“I told him as well after the game as well that I have seen many impact innings and many innings under pressure over so many years. I have not seen any better than how Rajat played today. Under pressure, big game, first uncapped player in the history of IPL to get a hundred in playoffs,” he added.
Patidar put on key partnerships for Bangalore, starting from a 66-run stand with Kohli, who made 25 and followed it up with a whirlwind partnership of 92 runs with wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who was unbeaten on 37 off 23 balls.
Reflecting on his innings, Patidar said, “Seriously, there was pressure but I had the belief that if I stitch a partnership, I can get the team to a good position.
It didn’t matter to me if I had played a few dot balls initially and had the trust that I could cover up for it if I stayed at the wicket for long. I had in mind that if a dot ball is played, then the mind will not be in pressure and irrespective of the bowler in front, can cover up later.”
RCB will face Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2022 qualifier 2 and the winner of the match will face Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 final.
