"I was like, yeah I can do something big" - Rajat Patidar on his memorable IPL 2022 campaign  

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Rajat Patidar stated that he was confident of doing something big since the encounter against the Gujarat Titans (GT) earlier in the campaign. The 28-year-old registered his maiden IPL fifty against the league leaders in an afternoon encounter against the league leaders.

After going unsold at the auction, Patidar became part of the RCB setup once again after coming in as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia. Following Virat Kohli's switch to the top of the order, the right-handed batter occupied the vacant No.3 spot and made his own. Following a memorable century in the Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants, Patidar has now scored 275 runs in seven matches.

Speaking about his approach after coming out to bat in the first over itself, Patidar said on RCB Match Day:

"We were three wickets down, so my plan was to remain in the present situation and just build one partnership in the middle. Right from my second match against GT, I was like, yeah I can do something big. I'm just focusing on my process which I have been doing so far."

The Madhya Pradesh-born player was handed his debut in the previous campaign, but struggled to make an impact over the two legs. This time around, he made his chances count by scoring 52 off 32 deliveries in his very second match.

Patidar went on to become the first player to register a hundred in an Eliminator contest. He scored an unbeaten 112 off 54 deliveries to propel RCB to 207-4 in the first innings.

View the IPL 2022 orange cap here.

"You feel great when you contribute to your team like this" - Rajat Patidar

The 28-year-old's efforts did not end in vain as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fell short of the target by 14 runs. RCB managed to clear the hurdle of the Eliminator in their third consecutive attempt.

Admitting that it feels great to contribute to the IPL team's win in such a fashion, he said:

"Of course, you feel great when you contribute to your team like this. So it always feels great and ending up on the winning note, is just a very good moment."

The Faf du Plessis-led side will face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a potential fourth appearance in the IPL finals. The second Qualifier will be contested in Ahmedabad on May 27 (Friday).