Royal Challengers Bangalore’s number 3 batsman, Rajat Patidar, entered the record book, on Wednesday, by becoming the first uncapped batsman to hit a century in the IPL playoffs – and only the fifth uncapped in all IPL matches – when he clattered an unbeaten ton against a strong Lucknow Super Giants bowling unit in the Eliminator game, at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Patidar’s sizzling strokeplay yielded him 112 unbeaten runs off 54 balls, his knock comprising 12 fours and 7 pristinely timed sixes, helping RCB to a gigantic total of 207.
Veteran journalist brought up an interesting fact that has got the fans in a bit of shock: that Paridar had indeed gone unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction.
Yes – Patidar had found no buyers at the mega-auction in February; not even RCB – whom he represented last season in 4 matches – put up a bid on his base price of 20 lakh. They eventually got him as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia.
Nikhil Naz tweeted: “Timely reminder that Rajat Patidar went unsold at this year’s IPL auctions, and only came in as a mid-season replacement for RCB after Luvnith Sisodia’s injury ruled him out.”
Here’s Nikhil Naz’s tweet on Rajat Patidar that’s going viral:
Timely reminder that Rajat Patidar went unsold at this year’s IPL auctions, and only came in as a mid-season replacement for RCB after Luvnith Sisodia’s injury ruled him out.
— Nikhil Naz (@NikhilNaz) May 25, 2022
Last season, Patidar had scored 71 runs in 4 matches at a strike rate of 114; this season, he has smoked 275 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 156.
Against LSG, Patidar came in early in the innings after Faf du Plessis’ golden duck and had to bat along with Virat Kohli who had decided to play the anchor role, trickling along at almost run-a-ball.
Two dropped catches notwithstanding, Patidar was the star for most of RCB’s innings until Dinesh Karthik (37 off 23 balls) whacked a few in the death overs. He brought up his half-century off 28 balls, and reached his maiden IPL hundred – via a stunning pull six to Mohsin Khan – on his 49th ball and soaked in all the applause from every corner of the stadium.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Gave A Heart-Winning Reaction After Rajat Patidar’s Hundred
