New Delhi: The Indian Premier League has entered the final leg of this year’s calendar year. Unlike last year, this year the excitement and spiciness have elevated a level. With only the Kolkata Knight Riders the sole team to qualify for the playoffs, there are still 3 spots up for grabs. In this cauldron, there are currently 6 teams who vie for their chances for a ticket to the playoffs. In this rat race of IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore has made a surprise comeback to claw their way back to the top 4 spot kudos to some inspirational all-round performances from the entire team. RCB had a wobbly start to their 2024 campaign, losing back-to-back matches on the trot. However, since their close 1-run defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bengaluru have won 5 matches on the trot. Their latest scalp was a dilapidated Delhi Capitals’ side. What happened in the match? On a tricky pitch, DC’s captain Axar Patel chose to bowl first in the hope of thwarting the opposition. The plan seemed to be in perfect sync for the Capitals when the RCB captain Faf du Plessis was out cheaply [6(7)] in the second over. Subsequently, in the next over Virat Kohli was also out caught by Abishek Porel. As things looked gloomy, RCB found a solid 88-run middle-order partnership between Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar. Patidar was especially impressive with a half-century [52(32)] at a strike rate of 160+. Will Jacks on the other hand continued with his blistering form. Subsequently, in the end with a consolidated lower-order effort led by Cameroon Green, RCB reached 188. In reply, Bangalore needed wickets right at the top to stay in the hunt. RCB got the perfect result in their favour as they got dangerous David Warner in the very first over. Warner was followed by Abhishek Porel who was outfoxed by Yash Dayal. In the very next ball, as luck would have it Fraser-McGurk was run out in a bizarre scene. Kumar Kushagra followed McGurk in the hut. To arrest the situation, Axar Patel and Shai Hope stitched together a healthy partnership. However, once Hope was out, the floodgates of DC opened. Quick wickets at the fag end of the innings as well as the untimely run out of Tristan Stubbs meant that 188 became a tad too much for the Capitals. Eventually, the visiting side fell to a crushing 47-run defeat. It also meant that DC's hopes for qualification in the playoffs became even more slippery. Moreover, RCB comes into the tricky NRR Calculation phase which nobody had foreseen at the start of the tournament. https://twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra/status/1789912770340614650 Rajat Patidar- RCB's orchestrator for resurgence.... RCB's orchestrator for a late resurgence has been Rajat Patidar. Patidar was a relatively less exciting prospect in this year's auctions given the fact that he did not have great form in the test series against England just before the IPL. In that series, Patidar particularly suffered against spin. However, the southpaw proved everyone wrong as he maintained a blistering strike rate of 224.69 against spin in IPL 2024. Paridar has scored 182 runs so far from 81 balls comprising 20 sixes and 5 fours and with an average of 91. Truly, the wonder kid from Indore has been a nightmare for the spinners in this year's IPL. Going ahead, with the kind of blistering form Patidar is in, the man from Madhya Pradesh will be a vital cog for RCB in the remainder of the season especially when the million-dollar question of RCB's qualification comes into question.
