Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar is on a roll and there seems to be no stopping him! The Madhya Pradesh batter slammed his fastest half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the third-fastest for RCB in the history of the tournament as his red-hot form continues. With his 53-run knock against Mumbai Indians, Patidar is now second on the list of leading run-getters in the curent edition of the tournament, only behind 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Patidar proves why he’s one of RCB’s best
Patidar took just 17 deliveries to breach the fifty-run mark against MI on Sunday. He slammed 4 fours and five sixes before he was sent packing for 53 off 20 balls eventually. Rajat now has 195 runs to his name from 4 matches, boasting a strike rate of 214.29 and an average of 65 in IPL 2026. In fact, he has overshadowed the likes of other explosive RCB batters like Tim David (214), Devdutt Padikkal (201.61), and Phil Salt (178.37) in terms of having a superior strike rate.
Fastest fifty for RCB in IPL (by balls faced)
- 14 – Romario Shepherd vs CSK, Bengaluru, 2025
- 17 – Chris Gayle vs PWI, Bengaluru, 2013
- 17 – Rajat Patidar vs MI, Wankhede, 2026*
- 18 – Faf du Plessis vs GT, Bengaluru, 2024
- 19 – Robin Uthappa vs KXIP, Bengaluru, 2010
- 19 – Rajat Patidar vs SRH, Hyderabad, 2024
Patidar has been a force to be reckoned with while batting at number four. Ever since he came in as an injury replacement for RCB in 2022, he has grown leaps and bounds, and his contributions with the bat in each IPL season since then apart from his prowess in the domestic circuit has been evidence to how he has been evolved as a T20 batter. Rajat is no stranger to dealing with both pace and spin effectively over the years.
He has maintained a strike rate of 175.24 and an average of 60.55 against spinners since his IPL debut. Against pacers, he boasts of a strike rate of 152.39. In IPL 2026, he has scored 129 off 59 balls off pacers and 66 off 32 balls against spinners.
| Type | Runs | Balls | Dismissals | Strike Rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Pace | 129 | 59 | 2 | 218.64 | 9 | 11 |
| vs Spin | 66 | 32 | 1 | 206.25 | 2 | 7 |
So far, Patidar has registered scores of 31, 48*, 63, and 53 in four games that he has featured in in IPL 2026. With each game, Rajat has proved that he is not only getting better but is also being more aggressive. His strike rates in the first three games were 258.33, 252.63, and 157.50, respectively, before he clocked 265 in the game against MI.
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