Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 4 : Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) historic maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win, skipper Rajat Patidar reflected on leading the side under the mentorship of star batter Virat Kohli and praised all-rounder Krunal Pandya for his match-defining bowling performance.
Rajat led RCB to break an 18-year-long title drought with a thrilling six-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, with the bowling unit--both pace and spin--delivering when it mattered most.
Speaking after the match, Patidar said about the trophy win while also hailing spinner Krunal Pandya's match-winning effort. "I think after the qualifier 1, the team believed it could win the IPL. At that time, we thought that we could do well this season. I think a 190 score was good on this track because it was a bit slow, and the way the bowlers executed their plans was tremendous to watch. Inspiring move to give Krunal Pandya the ball at that stage and he did a fabulous job. What a spell from him. 4 overs, 2 for 17. Of course, he is a wicket-taking bowler," he said
"Whenever I come under pressure, I look for KP. So, I had a lot of belief in him. With KP, I think Suyash also bowled really well throughout the season and all the bowlers, fast bowlers, Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), Yash (Dayal), (Josh) Hazlewood. And the way Romario (Shepherd) came in and the way he gave 2-3 overs and that breakthrough, I think that was really special," he added.
The skipper had a modest season with the bat, scoring 312 runs in 14 innings at an average of 24.00, including two half-centuries, with a strike rate of 143.77.
Krunal Pandya was RCB's standout spinner this season, finishing with 17 wickets at an average of 22.29, best figures of 4/45, and an economy rate of 8.23. He also emerged as the eighth-highest wicket-taker of the season.
Speaking on his captaincy experience, Patidar said, "For me, it is a great opportunity to do captaincy under him, and it was a great learning for me. And as I said, I think he deserves more than anyone else who has supported everyone, the management, the support staff, and the coaching staff. I think the way they have supported every player, I think that was beautiful."
Coming to the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first. Arshdeep Singh (3/40) and Kyle Jamieson (3/48) applied timely breaks with the ball, while Yuzi Chahal (1/37) also prevented batters from attacking. While Virat Kohli (43 in 35 balls, with three fours) tried to keep the innings together, skipper Rajat Patidar (26 in 16 balls, with a four and two sixes), Jitesh Sharma (24 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Liam Livingstone (25 in 15 balls, with two fours) upped the attack enough to help RCB post 190/9 in 20 overs.
In the run-chase, PBKS started well with Priyansh Arya (24 in 19 balls, with four boundaries) and Prabhsimran (26 in 22 balls, with two sixes) stitching a 43-run stand. Josh Inglis (39 in 23 balls, with a four and four sixes) and Shashank Singh (61* in 30 balls, three wins and six sixes) tried their level best to keep up with the rising run rate, but Krunal Panddya (2/17), Yash Dayal (1/18) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38) put a fine show with the ball to restrict PBKS to 184/7, despite a sensational 22 runs smashed by Shashank in the final over while needing 29.
RCB's win marks the end of a long wait, while PBKS--in their second-ever final and first in 11 years--will have to continue their search for a maiden title.