Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted 254 runs on the board in the first innings of the Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. With that, they set the record for the highest team total in IPL playoffs history. Gujarat held the record in the past, having scored 233 runs in the Qualifier 2 in 2023, but Bengaluru managed to shatter that following a decimating knock from captain Rajat Patidar.
The 32-year-old had a cautious start with RCB losing back-to-back wickets of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in the ninth over of the match. However, once he found momentum, Patidar was impossible to stop as he ended up scoring an unbeaten 93 runs off just 33 balls. He batted at a strike rate of 281.82, which should send a signal to the India team selectors that the Madhya Pradesh-born is ready for a new role.ย
RCB, in the meantime, have smacked 38 boundaries tonight, which is the most ever in IPL playoffs history. Chennai Super Kings had held the record with 33 to their name during their semi-final clash against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2012.
Poor fielding effort from GT
Shubman Gill grabbed a spectacular catch to send Venkatesh Iyer packing in the second over of the game. Since then, Kohli and Padikkal put pressure on the team, but after Jason Holder sent them back to the dugout, Gujarat had the perfect chance to control the tempo of the match. They were successful in doing so for a while, but dropped catches made things worse.
Krunal Pandya, who supported Patidar in a difficult phase of the match, was dropped twice which allowed RCB to crawl back into the contest. The all-rounder added 43 runs in 28 balls and it allowed Patidar to play his natural cricket. He capitalised in the middle and end overs, helping Bengaluru post a massive total on the board, which could very well be out of GTโs reach.ย
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