"He is not a celebrated Indian cricketer" - Aakash Chopra lauds Rajat Patidar's knock and captaincy in RCB's IPL 2025 win vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar for playing an enterprising knock and leading his side brilliantly in their IPL 2025 win against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He noted that the middle-order batter isn't a massively recognized Indian cricketer and may have been under pressure after being given RCB's captaincy.

Patidar smashed 64 runs off 32 deliveries as RCB set MI a 222-run target in Match 20 of IPL 2025 in Mumbai on Monday, April 7. The visitors then restricted Hardik Pandya and company to 209/9 to register a 12-run win.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Patidar for shining both as a batter and a captain in RCB's IPL 2025 clash against MI.

"The biggest headline is Rajat Patidar, the captain, and Rajat Patidar, the batter. What a guy. He is not a celebrated Indian cricketer. He played for India but was then dropped. You were made the captain of a huge franchise, and there was responsibility on you," Chopra said (2:30).

"He didn't come with the baggage of having not defeated Chennai in Chennai for 17 years and Mumbai in Mumbai for 10 years, as he was not part of those teams, but he is the captain. So the effect is there. How well he batted. He was going at a run-a-ball for the first 10 balls," he added.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player opined that Patidar has been the best Indian middle-order batter in IPL 2025 and has led the side impeccably.

"Mumbai had game plans against him, but he demolished all of them. In terms of hitting form, no Indian batter is playing better than him in the middle overs. If anyone comes close to him, it's Suryakumar Yadav. His captaincy goes unnoticed, completely under the radar. He might not be a celebrated name as a captain, but he was on point," Chopra observed.

Rajat Patidar struck five fours and four sixes during his 64-run knock. He scored only eight runs off his first 10 deliveries before pressing the accelerator and taking the Mumbai Indians attack to the cleaners.

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"He has hit the shot of the tournament" - Aakash Chopra lauds Jitesh Sharma's knock in RCB's IPL 2025 win vs MI

Jitesh Sharma played a swashbuckling knock in RCB's IPL 2025 clash against MI. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Jitesh Sharma (40* off 19) for playing a crucial cameo, which included a stunning six, during RCB's innings.

"The second story was of Jitesh Sharma. He batted incredibly well in the last match and did so in this match as well. In my opinion, he has hit the shot of the tournament. He swept a Trent Boult ball, which was almost a yorker, for a six - outstanding," he said (4:00).

The cricketer-turned-analyst also appreciated Virat Kohli for scoring his fastest-ever IPL half-century.

"Virat Kohli also scored runs. There was an interesting trivia that this was his first fifty off less than 30 balls. I was surprised. He also came with intent and hit a six off the first ball he faced from (Jasprit) Bumrah," Chopra observed.

Virat Kohli scored 67 runs off 42 deliveries with the help of eight fours and two sixes. He added 91 runs for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22) after Phil Salt had been dismissed off the second ball of RCB's innings.