NEWS
Follow UsThe ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy has turned out to be great for Rajat Patidar and his team Madhya Pradesh. They are through to the final of India’s domestic T20 competition for the first time since 2010-11 and their skipper Patidar has played a major role in that.
The right-handed batter is the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, having slammed 347 runs at an average of almost 50 and a strike rate of 182.63. Patidar is also one of the five batters with more than 20 sixes in the SMAT 2024.
In the semi-final against Delhi at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Patidar walked out to bat at 46/3 in the 147-run chase and hit 66* off 29 deliveries to take MP home with more than four overs to spare. Patidar smashed four fours and six maximums during his knock.
"I'm just trying to back my strength in the areas where I'm going to hit. I was hitting long from last year, (and) last-to-last year. So I'm just trying to find the same pattern that I was playing (with) in IPL, and how I have to go about it,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Patidar as saying.
"I try to put my impact on the opposition for my team. I've never paid attention to getting the big scores. My mantra is to play one ball at a time. So I try to do that. I've never thought that I'll get a big score. I focus on what I can do."
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) retained him for INR 11 crore ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, and Patidar will be happy if the captaincy opportunity arises in the future.
"I've learned much. I've enjoyed learning more tactically because I love seeing the players, and anticipate what they can do. It's a great time which I spend with my coach Chandrakant Pandit about captaincy. So, yeah, I am learning a lot."
Madhya Pradesh will take on Mumbai in the final of the SMAT 2024 in Bengaluru on December 15 (Sunday).
(Image credit - PTI)
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
