KOLKATA: Rajat Patidar was ignored at this year's mega Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, only to be picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as an injury replacement, but the 28-year-old never cared about things which he couldn't really control.
On Wednesday, in the IPL Eliminator, Patidar hit a 54-ball 112 not out, which laid the foundation of RCB's 14-run win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). RCB restricted LSG to 193/6 after putting up 207/4 on the board, thanks to Patidar's ton.
The winners of the Eliminator will now meet Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2, which will decide who faces Gujarat Titans in the final.
"I was busy after the 2021 IPL playing for my club. I wasn't picked after the 2021 IPL, but that wasn't in my control."
On his innings, Patidar said that his ability to make up for the dot balls is his real strength.
"I never feel any pressure as I think I have the ability to make up for the dots," he said.
The last over of the Powerplay, in which he launched into Krunal Pandya, gave him the confidence that this could be his day after all.
"When I time the ball, my focus is on it. The last over of the powerplay when Krunal was bowling to me, my execution went fine then and I got confident afterwards. The wicket was pretty good and I played some good shots," he said.
