Rajat Patidar has been instrumental in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's amazing turnaround in IPL 2024.
Sunday's 47-run victory against Delhi Capitals was RCB's fifth victory in a row as they bounced back from losing six consecutive matches to keep their play-offs hopes alive.
Patidar came to RCB's rescue after the early dismissals of openers Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli with a counter-attacking half-century, smashing 52 from 32 balls, with three sixes and as many fours.
Patidar has been dominant against spin this season, having smashed the most sixes by any batter against spinners in IPL 2024 so far. Just like his team RCB, Patidar also struggled at the start of IPL 2024, with 21 runs from his first three innings which came after his horror showing with the bat in the Test series against England, where he managed just 63 runs in six innings.
But the 30-year-old got back on track with a quickfire half-century against Mumbai Indians and since then has proved to be unstoppable in the middle overs, with five fifties in his last seven innings.
Patidar has provided RCB the impetus in the middle overs (overs 7-15), where he has smashed 255 runs from 136 balls at a strike rate of 187. During that same period he has hit 26 sixes -- the most by any batter in that phase this season. The only other batter who has got to the 20 sixes mark in the middle overs has been Rajasthan Royals' Riyan Parag.
Out of his 27 sixes in IPL 2024, 20 have come against spin -- the same as Sunrisers Hyderabad's explosive opener Abhishek Sharma.
The proof of his dominance against spin can be gauged his from amazing strike. This season, his strike rate when batting against spinners is an incredible 224, having hit 182 runs from 81 balls, with 20 sixes and five fours.
Patidar, who missed IPL 2023 with injury, is already on course for his best showing with the bat, with 320 runs from 13 games at a strike rate of 179, with his previous best being 333 runs from eight games in IPL 2022.
