After the fourth ball of the 17th over bowled by Kagiso Rabada, Virat Kohli held his extended lower jaw in pure amazement. He could scarcely believe that a length ball delivered by the Gujarat Titans pacer had been deposited into the stands at extra cover. You wouldn’t get a more glowing review of that shot than this gobsmacked expression from the legend. The architect of that piece of brilliance was Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar.

The 32-year-old scored an unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls to outbat the opposition in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 to take his side closer to the prospect of a second successive title. Patidar played out just a solitary dot ball in his game-changing knock.

“When we lost those couple of wickets (Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal), after a good start from the top three, it meant that we had a little bit of time just to do a little rebuild and then go again. Rajat recognising those moments and deciding when to shift the gears, that takes a real level of discipline and sophistication to your thinking and your planning,” said Mo Bobat, RCB’s director of cricket.

“One of the things about Rajat is he tends to middle the ball quite often. Whether he’s facing pace bowling, spin bowling, off the front or back foot, the ball hits the middle of his bat quite a lot. He’s got some really good and sound basics and a pretty fearless intent, which is great to see,” Bobat added.

Quietly steering clear of the turbulence and distractions surrounding the league, defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first side to secure a playoff berth.

Despite the team’s impressive run, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat dismissed suggestions that the franchise had somehow “cracked the code” of the tournament, sticking to the ‘taking-it-one-day-at-a-time’ cliche.

The Englishman, however, lavished praise on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returns to the venue he called home for 11 seasons.

“He knows this surface and ground well, so we’ve been picking his brains a little bit over the last few days just to understand things.

“And as always, he’s trying to help everyone around him. He has a calming influence on the whole team. We get huge value out of him,” he said.

Bobat also felt that Bhuvneshwar has unlocked another gear this season.

“Everybody knows his skills, he swings the ball both ways, he’s got incredible control and accuracy. I think he’s gone up a level this year even compared to last year. He’s a very calm and composed figure at the death, a bit like Josh Hazelwood and Rasikh Salam Dar have been.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad may have turned a corner with its bowling, but Bobat reiterated that they remain stronger with the willow.

“They’ve got a reputation, and rightly so, as a dangerous batting unit. I really enjoy the way they go about their batting, it kind of aligns with how I like teams to play, so it’s always fun watching them play. They’ve got some high-calibre players”.