There is a moment in the footage from Tuesday night that says everything. Rajat Patidar meets a good-length ball from Kagiso Rabada, fifth-stump line, the kind of delivery that a good batter watches carefully and punches to the offside. Patidar goes back-foot, keeps his shape, and drives it over the covers for six. Virat Kohli, standing at the non-striker’s end, covers his mouth with his hand and stares. Not clapping. Not celebrating. Just staring at what he has just witnessed.
When you make Virat Kohli go slack-jawed in a knockout match, something special has happened. Rajat Patidar’s 93 not out off 33 balls is the fastest innings of 90 or more in the history of the IPL, at a strike rate of 281.81. RCB beat Gujarat Titans by 92 runs at Dharamsala and are in the IPL 2026 final, becoming the first team in this year’s tournament to seal their place in the title match.
The defending champions are defending again. And they got there with one of the most dominant playoff performances this competition has ever seen.
The Day Before
The night before the match, Patidar stood at the pre-game press conference and said, “We are not here to defend; we are here to attack. On the given day, whichever team executes their plans better, plays better cricket, and stays calmer under pressure, that team will win.”
He then went out and scored 93 off 33 balls. Sometimes captains do exactly what they say they will.
The First Innings
GT won the toss and chose to bowl first. Dharamsala is a ground that favors chasing, and it looked like a smart call. RCB were also missing Phil Salt through injury, which meant a reshuffle at the top.
The innings started well. Kohli and Padikkal put on 50 runs in just 23 balls for the second wicket, and RCB was 76 for 1 after the powerplay. The platform was being laid. Then Jason Holder produced a spell that shifted the game briefly back in GT’s direction. GT nearly snuck back in with 22 balls, 18 runs, and two wickets in a single Holder over. At the end of 14 overs, RCB were 140 for 3. Good. Not dominant. The game was still open.
Then Patidar happened.
He came in at 93 for 2 at the 8.2 overs mark. By the time the innings closed, he had made 93 off 33 balls with nine sixes. His innings featured only one dot ball across those 33 deliveries. Eight of his nine sixes came in the last six overs alone, during which he scored 72 off 20 balls after being 21 off 13. GT dropped three catches and missed a run-out chance in the first innings, something that cost them the chance of qualification to the finals.
Patidar and Jitesh Sharma added 40 off just 12 balls for the sixth wicket as RCB closed at 254 for 5, the highest total in IPL playoff history. It is also the joint-highest score by any captain in an IPL playoff match. GT had never previously posted or chased more than 233 in any match across their entire existence as a franchise. They now needed 255 to win.
The Chase That Never Was
Whatever hope GT carried into their innings did not survive the first two overs.
Jacob Duffy got Sai Sudharsan, who has been the most consistent batter of this IPL season, for 14 off 9 balls and hit the wicket. In the very next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Shubman Gill for just 2 off 7 balls. GT had lost both their openers with only 27 on the board.
Two batters who have been the spine of every GT innings all season. Both are gone inside four overs without the team score even reaching 30. The chase had not even started, and it was already finished.
Jos Buttler showed some brief intent with 29 off 11 balls before being clean bowled by Hazlewood. Then Rasikh Salam dismissed Nishant Sindhu and Jason Holder off successive balls as GT finished the powerplay at 51 for 5. From there it was only about the margin.
Rahul Tewatia, coming in as GT’s impact player, was the only one who refused to simply let the evening end. He made 68 off 43 balls before being caught at extra cover off Bhuvneshwar in the last over, a brilliant knock in a game that had already been decided an hour earlier. GT were bowled out for 162 in the final over. RCB won by 92 runs.
What This Season Has Built
Under Patidar’s captaincy, RCB ended an 18-year title drought by defeating Punjab Kings to win the 2025 IPL championship. He was asked to do it again. He has put his team one step away from doing exactly that.
In IPL 2026, Patidar’s middle-overs runs have come at a strike rate of 206.66, more than a run an over quicker than the next-best non-opener in that phase across the whole tournament. The critics who questioned his contributions mid-season were watching him do this to the best bowling attack in the competition on the biggest stage.
The last eight IPL titles have been won by the team that won Qualifier 1. RCB now sit inside that statistic. GT still has a second chance in Qualifier 2 at their home ground in Ahmedabad, where they will face the winner of the eliminator between SRH and the Rajasthan Royals.
But the night in Dharamsala belonged to one person. A captain who said he was not there to defend and then proved it with the fastest innings of 90-plus in IPL history. A man who made Virat Kohli cover his mouth in disbelief.
Rajat Patidar. 93 off 33. One dot ball. Nine sixes.
RCB are in the final.
