BENGALURU: Friday’s IPL clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium brings together two captains on opposite arcs. Rajat Patidar, who had only limited leadership experience on the domestic circuit before being handed the RCB captain’s job last season, has turned into the defending champions’ most explosive batter and a steady hand in a high-pressure campaign.In contrast, Shubman Gill, arrives with a heavier leadership resume which includes the India in Tests and ODIs captaincy. But his season for Gujarat Titans has been far less fluent, especially in the Powerplay, even if his numbers still keep him among the league’s leading run-scorers. As a team, Gujarat are wobbling, having just recovered from a 99-run crushing against Mumbai Indians.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Patidar’s rise has been one of the season’s sharper storylines. Before being handed RCB’s captaincy, his leadership experience had largely been limited to Madhya Pradesh’s campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.He has backed that relative inexperience with fearless batting, dominating the middle overs in the last couple of seasons. Currently the team’s second highest run-scorer with 230 runs from six matches (strike rate 212.96), Patidar has been RCB’s power-hitting spark this season.On the other hand, Gill’s season has been more uneven. The 26-year-old has had to carry a heavy scoring load this season while navigating patchy results around him. With a strike rate of 151.42, Gill sits third on the run-scorer’s chart with 265 runs from five matches.
With three half-centuries against his name, Gill as GT skipper has blown hot and cold, with the former champions undergoing an inconsistent run. This contrast between the skippers is at the centre of a contest in which both teams enter on the back of losses.RCB have looked sharp in the Powerplay and at the death, with Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and Patidar giving the order a strong top-end and Tim David a sizzling finish. GT, meanwhile, had won three in a row before their last outing, but the batting order was exposed in their crushing loss to Mumbai, underlining its dependence on the top order.While RCB’s batting has been their biggest weapon, their bowling still looks a touch thinner when forced to defend at home and the onus will once again fall on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and spinner Krunal Pandya. They will also hope that their Australian pace ace Josh Hazlewood bounces back after an off-day against Capitals.Meanwhile, GT’s pace attack remains a major strength, with Prasidh Krishna their leading wicket-taker and support around him giving the unit bite, but their batting has tended to lean heavily on Gill, Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan. That makes the middle order a possible pressure point. On his home turf, Prasidh could probe the RCB batters.History offers little to separate them. The head-to-head is level at 3-3, while GT won the corresponding fixture here in 2025 by eight wickets.With RCB playing their last home league fixture in Bengaluru, the hosts will not just want points: they will want to sign off with a flourish.
