We dominated this year: Rajat Patidar

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second IPL title win came on Rajat Patidar’s 33rd birthday but more than that happy coincidence, the skipper was pleased with his team’s start-to-end domination in the league.

RCB were an unstoppable force from the opening match, where they decimated Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

That bull run reached its logical conclusion at the Narendra Modi Stadium with a five-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans in the IPL final on Sunday.

“To be honest, last year was a lot of pressure. This year was more calm because of the way we played throughout the tournament. I think we have not just played, we dominated this year,” said Patidar in the post-match press conference. 

“So we were pretty much confident that if we are playing like this, we are definitely going to win the second title for RCB,” he added.

He also sent out a cold message for contenders — RCB are far from finished.

“It is the best gift because it is my birthday today (Sunday). It feels good overall, but as an individual, I try to stay in the present. We will have to focus more on how we can do three in a row,” he said.

RCB’s title defence was a collective effort, but the imprint of Patidar as a captain and batter was unmistakable.

The Madhya Pradesh cricketer explained how he led RCB quietly, a visible departure from the in-your-face style of his predecessors Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis.

“You know, my way of captaincy is different. I am not that expressive, but at the same time I am aware of the game situation. Of course, you need a backing. As I said, there was a lot of backing by the management and the players as well,” he said.