Rajat Patidar smashes superlative century against LSG; Netizens hail exquisite knock

Faf du Plessis led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) locked horns with KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2022 Eliminator match at Eden Gardens. In a high-scoring encounter, RCB came out victorious by 14 runs and proceeded to IPL Qualifier 2 where they will face Rajasthan Royals. 

The man behind RCB's win on Wednesday was Rajat Patidar. The right-handed batsman wasn't even part of RCB after the auction but he was brought in as a replacement player and he produced one of the most important knocks in a high-pressure match which helped his team win the match in the end.

IPL 2022 eliminator: Fans react to Rajat Patidar's match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants

When big guns like Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli failed to fire with the bat for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2022 eliminator, it was Rajat Patidar who came to the team's rescue and smashed his maiden century. He remained unbeaten on 112 in just 54 balls which helped RCB reach a mammoth 207/4 while batting first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Fans took to social and shared their views on Rajat Patidar's incredible knock.

Milestone achieved by Rajat Patidar 

Besides scoring his maiden century, Rajat Patidar also etched his name in the history books due to his exciting knock. Patidar is the first uncapped player to score a century in the playoffs/knockouts of the IPL breaking the record set by Manish Pandey. The LSG star, when uncapped, had scored 94 off 50 balls for Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the 2014 IPL. 

Patidar's century in 49 balls, is the joint-fastest ton scored by any player in the playoffs or knockouts of the IPL. The RCB batter equalled the record set by Wriddhiman Saha, who scored 115 off 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 IPL final. 

The 28-year-old also registered the third-highest score by an uncapped player in the IPL. Paul Valthaty tops the list followed by Manish Pandey, Patidar is third on the list while Devdutt Paddikal is next after him in the list. Patidar's unbeaten knock of 112 runs is also the fourth-highest score ever in the playoffs.

IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants match highlights

The IPL 2022 eliminator match was a nail biting and nerve-wracking affair and in the end it was the Royal Challengers Bangalore who defended the target set by them for Lucknow Super Giants to chase down. LSG skipper KL Rahul won the toss and asked RCB to bat first. The Lucknow team had their noses in front after dismissing RCB skipper Faf du Plessis for a duck. Virat Kohli laboured his way to 25 runs of 24 balls before getting dismissed.

Rajat Patidar occupied the crease and smashed an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls and was supported by  Dinesh Karthik (37* off 23) in the end to take the team's total to 207.  In the chase, LSG lost their opener QDK in the first over. KL Rahul (79 off 58) and Deepak Hooda (45 off 26) partnered for 96 runs stand however once eths stand was broken it was RCB who had the grip on the match. The other LSG batters couldn't fire and the team ended up short by 14 runs. The IPL qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals will be played on May 27.