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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Rajat Patidar continued a turnaround in his Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with yet another scorching half-century, the second-fastest by a player from his franchise.
In the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Patidar smashed 50 in just 20 balls, with two fours and five sixes. He reached his half-century in just 19 balls, tying with former Indian batter Robin Uthappa for the second-fastest half-century by an RCB batter. His runs came at a strike rate of 250.00. The fastest fifty by an RCB batter came in 2013 at the hands of West Indies great Chris Gayle, who reached the milestone in just 17 balls against Pune Warriors India back in 2013. In eight innings, Patidar has scored 211 runs at an average of 26.38 and a strike rate of 175.83, with three half-centuries. In his first four innings, he could score just 50 runs at an average of 12.50. But in the next four, he has managed to get 161 runs at an average of 40.25, with three half-centuries. Also, his strike rate shot up massively in these four innings, striking between 180-250. Patidar's game against leg spin in his IPL career has been sensational. He has scored 193 runs in 88 balls against leg spinners at an average of 64.33 and a strike rate of 219.31, with six fours and 20 sixes. This also includes the four huge sixes smashed against Mayank Markande in the match. Coming to the match, RCB won the toss and elected to bat first. Skipper Faf Du Plessis (25 in 12 balls, with three fours and a six) and Virat Kohli got the team off to a blazing start in the powerplay. After a slowdown post-powerplay, Rajat Patidar (50 in 20 balls, with two fours and five sixes) injected life into the RCB's innings. Virat was dismissed for 51 in 43 balls, with four boundaries and a six and failed to capitalise on his fine start during the powerplay. Despite some quick wickets, cameos from Cameron Green (37* in 20 balls with five fours) and Swapnil Singh (12* in six balls, with a four and six) took RCB to 206/7 in their 20 overs. Jaydev Unadkat (3/30) and T Natrajan (2/39) were the top bowlers for SRH. Pat Cummins and Mayank Markande took a wicket each. In the run-chase, SRH kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Except for Abhishek Sharma (31 in 13 balls with three fours and two sixes), none of the previous heroes for SRH, be it Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen or Nitish Reddy made an impact. Skipper Cummins (31 in 15 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Shahbaz Ahmed (40 in 37 balls, with a four and six) did put up a fight, but SRH was skittled out for 171 in their 20 overs. Green (2/12) and Karn Sharma (2/29) were the top bowlers for RCB. Swapnil Singh also took two wickets for 40 runs. Will Jacks and Yash Dayal also got a wicket each. Rajat Patidar took home the 'Player of the Match' for his quickfire fifty. RCB is at the bottom of the points table with two wins, seven losses and four points. SRH is in the third spot with five wins, three losses and 10 points. (ANI)
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