Rajat Patidar produced one of the finest knocks of his IPL career in Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans. The RCB skipper smashed a sensational unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls, powering his side to 254/5 — the highest total in IPL playoff history. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was full of praise for Patidar after the innings.Royal Challengers Bengaluru marched into their second consecutive IPL final after crushing Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala. Patidar was undoubtedly the star of the night, dismantling the GT bowling attack with a breathtaking innings filled with fearless strokeplay.The RCB captain hammered nine sixes and five boundaries at a staggering strike rate of 281.82. One of the highlights of his innings came when he took 28 runs off a single over from Kulwant Khejroliya.However, the standout moment came in the 17th over against Kagiso Rabada. Just after bringing up his blistering 21-ball half-century, Patidar produced a stunning backfoot six off a high-paced delivery outside off stump. Instead of defending, he stayed deep in the crease, opened his arms, and launched the ball over the cover boundary with incredible power and timing.Ashwin called it the “shot of the day” and even suggested it could be the “shot of the tournament.”“That backfoot six Rajat hit off Kagiso Rabada was straight-up shot of the day, probably even a contender for shot of the tournament. How he even managed to generate that power from there is beyond me,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.“Before this knock, Shreyas Iyer was probably a bit ahead in the captaincy and batting conversations, but after tonight, Patidar is right up there,” Ashwin added. “We all know how good Rajat Patidar is against spin, but the way he handled fast bowling today was seriously impressive too. And those sixes he hit off Rashid Khan… I’ve seen very few batters who can get onto the front foot, get right to the pitch of the ball, and still loft Rashid over extra cover for six like that. Pure class. Cometh the man, cometh the hour,” he added.
