IPL 2026: Patidar’s Knock Was The Turning Point, He Accelerated Beautifully, Says Pietersen

IPL 2026: Patidar’s knock was the turning point, he accelerated beautifully, says Pietersen (Image Source: IANS)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar’s unbeaten 48 and his timing of acceleration were the turning point in their 43-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), according to former England batter Kevin Pietersen.

Patidar scored a quick-fire 48 not out off 19 balls at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, as RCB posted a mammoth 250/3. He smashed six maximums and a four at a strike-rate of 252.63, apart from sharing an unbeaten 99-run stand for the fourth wicket with Tim David, who hit 70 not out off 25 balls.

"You could see the confidence in Rajat Patidar. Dinesh Karthik has spoken about how hard he worked on his game after the IPL. He wasn’t satisfied with just winning the title. He wanted to contribute more. Tim David’s innings was outstanding and filled with big sixes, but for me, Patidar’s knock was the turning point.

"When Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt took some time to get going, Patidar came in and accelerated beautifully. The way he adapted to the conditions and found those sixes with such ease changed the momentum of the game. He deserves a lot of credit for that innings," said Pietersen on JioStar.

Former India captain Anil Kumble highlighted that struggles of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson have hampered their batting show, adding that the five-time champions need to sort this out before it becomes too late.

"When Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt took some time to get going, Patidar came in and accelerated beautifully. The way he adapted to the conditions and found those sixes with such ease changed the momentum of the game. He deserves a lot of credit for that innings," said Pietersen on JioStar.

"You need at least one of your experienced batters to step up and deliver a big innings. Unfortunately, in the first three games, things haven’t gone Chennai’s way. It’s still early in the season, but they will need to tighten things up quickly," he added.

Article Source: IANS