Rajat Patidar’s unbeaten 112 off 54, Harshal Patel’s clever bowling take Bengaluru to the Qualifier 2

There was a temporary lull in Lucknow Super Giants’ chase of 208 for victory, when Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel put on the choke. Run-rate dipped and asking-rate went past 14. After the second strategic time-out, Super Giants had to throw the kitchen sink.

From Royal Challengers Bangalore’s point of view, Hasaranga’s final two overs were the key, but irrespective of Deepak Hooda’s wicket, the leg-spinner conceded 32 runs in those two overs. Harshal bowled the 18th over and started off with six wides in the first two balls. The medium pacer brilliantly pulled things back to give away only two more runs plus Marcus Stoinis’ wicket. It was the game-changer. Josh Hazlewood dismissed KL Rahul in the next over and that was the game. Krunal Pandya’s scalp next ball was a bonus. RCB won by 14 runs to go to Qualifier 2 on Friday.

Patidar’s ton

Mohsin Khan, showing the irreverence of youth and unperturbed by the Kohli fanaticism at Eden Gardens, asked some tough questions at the outset. The left-arm quick made the ball rear off a length and seamed it away to beat Virat Kohli all ends up. It was the first over of the match after a delayed start due to bad weather and Kohli was yet to open his account.

Rajat Patidar’s brilliant century and DK’s clutch innings at the end, help us put up a massive total. ????

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— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 25, 2022

Kohli tried to respond with aggression, got a thick outside edge and cleared the in-field for a three. Moral victory to Mohsin, who bowled an excellent first over. It became even better with Faf du Plessis’ wicket for a golden duck. In his second over, he had Kohli nearly caught at cover-point. Mohsin had the upper hand in an engrossing battle with the superstar. The latter showed his class with a magnificent on-drive off Dushmantha Chameera.

From the lead-up till the time he perished, chasing a wide one from Avesh Khan, everything in this game was Kohli-centric, from the spectators’ point of view. The sparkle came from an unlikely source, Rajat Patidar.
He was an outsider amid an RCB constellation of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik. In the end, his 112 not out off 54 balls, including 12 fours and seven sixes, turned out to be the innings of the game, a few dropped catches notwithstanding.

Patidar is an unassuming presence in the RCB batting line-up, who does his job quietly. The team management knows his value, a reason why he bats at No. 3. Even at the death, when he was nearing his hundred, fans rather opted for ‘DK, DK’ chants. Patidar turned a deaf ear and continued to impress with his stroke-play.

RCB were set for an average Powerplay score until Patidar took Krunal Pandya to the cleaners and accounted for a 20-run over. It took his team’s Powerplay score to a healthy 52/1. At times he looked a tad uncomfortable against Chameera’s pace but made it up with his intelligence. He targeted the shorter boundary. Getting inside the line of an Avesh delivery and pulling it over long leg for a six attested his awareness.

Kohli wasn’t in his element. Maxwell got out for nine. Karthik scored a breezy 37 not out during the dying embers of RCB’s innings. Patidar carried his team. Fifty came off 28 balls and he raced to his maiden T20 hundred off 49 deliveries. Along the way, there was brutal clobbering of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi – a couple of fours and as many sixes in an over. He benefited from a dropped catch by Hooda all right, but Patidar never carried the excess baggage of those dropped chances.

In a 66-run partnership (46 balls) with Kohli, Patidar was the senior partner, scoring 43. Even in an unbroken 92-run fifth wicket stand (41 balls) with Karthik, who gradually went gung-ho, the 28-year-old outscored the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Super Giants bowling suffered from a lack of consistency and far too many boundary balls were presented with. Poor bowling and ordinary fielding contributed to RCB’s 200-plus score. Mohsin (1/25) was an exception.

Harshal’s skill

Losing Quinton de Kock in the first over of the chase was a massive setback for Super Giants. He is the enforcer for his side up the order, while Rahul likes to pace his innings. De Kock’s dismissal to Siraj and a 10-plus asking rate right from the start put the Super Giants skipper out of his comfort zone. The pitch was excellent for batting, but Rahul had to deal with the scoreboard pressure as well. Two sixes and a four against Siraj was his release moment, which also ensured a very good Powerplay score, 62/2.

But sustained aggression was the need of the hour for Super Giants, while from RCB’s perspective, one batsman had to play a no-holds-barred knock. Rahul scored 79 off 58 balls. In the context of the game, it was ineffectual. RCB revelled in Harshal’s change of pace and death-overs skills. 1/25 from four overs was a fantastic effort.