Big Match Player: Will RCB skipper Patidar strike a knockout blow after recent dip in form

Mullanpur (Maharashtra) [India], May 29 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar will have a lot of eyeballs on him as his team takes to the field for the Qualifier One clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Mullanpur on Thursday, with the winner guaranteed a direct spot in the final.
Patidar, known for his striking abilities against spin, has been battling a dip in form after a promising first half. However, the Madhya Pradesh batter possesses a fine record in knockout T20 matches, which makes this match a perfect platform for him to roar back to his best.
The 31-year-old, who joined the RCB squad late in 2022 as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia, rose to stardom with a 49-ball century against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the eliminator, which helped RCB secure a win. In IPL knockouts, Patidar has scored 204 runs in three innings, at an average of 102 and a strike rate of 173, with a century and half-century.
This record gets even monstrous when his outings for Madhya Pradesh in knockout matches are considered. He is yet to score below 25 in a T20 knockout match. Including his outings for MP, Patidar has 379 runs in six T20 knockout matches at an average of 126.33, with a century and three half-centuries. His most recent outings were unbeaten 66* (against Delhi) and 81* (against Mumbai) in the semifinal and final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).
Patidar is in desperate need of runs. The first half of IPL 2025 was promising. He scored 209 runs in six innings at an average of 34.83, with a strike rate of 157.14 and two half-centuries to his name. However, in his next six innings, he scored just 62 runs at a shockingly poor average of 10.33, failing to cross 20 even once and best score being 18.
This season, Patidar has scored 271 runs at an average of 22.58 and a strike rate of 140.41, with the best score of 64.
Will Patidar's big-match temperament help him deliver a thumping comeback at Mullanpur?
Squads:
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Xavier Bartlett, Praveen Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Tim Seifert, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Swapnil Singh, Blessing Muzarabani, Tim David, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh. (ANI)