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There are playoff innings that win matches. Then there are playoff innings that start swallowing record books whole. Rajat Patidar's unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 belonged firmly in the second category.
On a Dharamshala night already carrying playoff tension, Patidar walked in at 93/2 in 8.2 overs after RCB lost Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in the same over. Gujarat Titans had finally dragged themselves back into the game. The momentum had shifted. Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada were waiting.
And then Patidar happened.
RCB vs GT: The sixes by Rajat Patidar that changed the match
By the end of the innings, the RCB captain had smashed 5 fours and 9 sixes, powered Bengaluru to 254/5, the highest total ever recorded in IPL playoff history, and casually broken a ridiculous number of records along the way. The most absurd part? While Patidar blasted 93 off 33 balls, the other end, including extras, managed just 68 runs off 37 deliveries during the same phase. This was not partnership batting. This was one man hijacking the scoreboard.
The innings had everything. Clean swings over midwicket. Flat pulls. Inside-out hitting against pace. But two shots stood above the rest.
One was the fearless loft over extra cover against Rashid Khan, one of the best T20 bowlers ever. The other was the effortless six over cover off Kagiso Rabada at 140-plus kph. Neither shot involved wild muscle. Neither looked agricultural. They looked almost casual, which somehow made them more disrespectful.
GT tried pace. Patidar used it. GT tried slower balls. He waited. GT tried length changes. He cleared the ropes anyway. By the time the innings ended, Gujarat's bowling attack looked less like an elite playoff unit and more like men accidentally standing in the wrong postcode.
Rajat Patidar now owns one of the greatest IPL playoff records ever
Patidar's playoff numbers are becoming genuinely absurd.
Rajat Patidar in IPL playoffs:
- 112 (54)* vs LSG - Eliminator 2022
- 58 (42) vs RR - Qualifier 2 2022
- 34 (22) vs RR - Eliminator 2024
- 15 (8)* vs PBKS - Qualifier 1 2025
- 26 (16) vs PBKS - Final 2025
- 93 (33)* vs GT - Qualifier 1 2026
Overall playoff record:
- 6 innings
- 338 runs
- Average: 112.66
- Strike rate: 193.14
- 100s/50s: 1/2
- 25 fours
- 24 sixes
Only three players in IPL playoff history have hit more sixes:
- Suresh Raina - 40
- MS Dhoni - 28
- Kieron Pollard - 25
- Rajat Patidar - 24*
The terrifying part for bowlers is that Patidar reached this number in only six innings.
Fastest playoff fifty list gets a new entrant
Patidar reached his fifty in just 21 balls, placing him among the fastest playoff fifties in IPL history.
Fastest 50s in IPL knockouts/playoffs:
- 16 balls - Suresh Raina vs PBKS, 2014
- 17 balls - Adam Gilchrist vs DC, 2009
- 20 balls - MS Dhoni vs MI, 2012
- 21 balls - Dwayne Smith vs CSK, 2013
- 21 balls - Virender Sehwag vs CSK, 2014
- 21 balls - Rajat Patidar vs GT, 2026*
Among captains specifically, Patidar now owns the third-fastest playoff fifty in IPL history.
Fastest playoff fifties by captains:
- 17 balls - Adam Gilchrist vs DC, 2009
- 20 balls - MS Dhoni vs MI, 2012
- 21 balls - Rajat Patidar vs GT, 2026*
Highest playoff score by an Indian captain
Patidar's unbeaten 93 also became:
- The highest individual score by an Indian captain in IPL playoff history
- The joint-highest score by any captain in IPL playoff history
Highest scores by captains in IPL playoffs:
- 93* - David Warner vs GL, 2016
- 93* - Rajat Patidar vs GT, 2026
- 87* - Shreyas Iyer vs MI, 2025
- 85 - Adam Gilchrist vs DD, 2009
- 79 - KL Rahul vs RCB, 2022
He went past Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 87 from IPL 2025 and joined David Warner at the top.
Also READ: RCB vs GT: Kagiso Rabada breaks all-time IPL record with wicket of Venkatesh Iyer in Qualifier 1
Rajat Patidar becomes the biggest six-hitting captain in T20 history
The nine sixes against GT took Patidar's tally to 41 sixes in IPL 2026, officially the most by any captain in a single T20 tournament.
Most sixes in a T20 tournament by a captain:
- 41* - Rajat Patidar (RCB, IPL 2026)
- 40 - Riyan Parag (Assam, SMAT 2023-24)
- 39 - Shreyas Iyer (PBKS, IPL 2025)
- 38 - Virat Kohli (RCB, IPL 2016)
- 37 - Chris Gayle (Jamaica Tallawahs, CPL 2016)
He also broke the IPL-specific record.
Most sixes in an IPL season by a captain:
- 41* - Rajat Patidar (RCB, 2026)
- 39 - Shreyas Iyer (PBKS, 2025)
- 38 - Virat Kohli (RCB, 2016)
- 31 - David Warner (SRH, 2016)
- 30 - MS Dhoni (CSK, 2018)
And because records apparently ran out of hiding tonight:
Most sixes by an RCB captain in an IPL season:
- 41* - Rajat Patidar (2026)
- 38 - Virat Kohli (2016)
- 27 - Faf du Plessis (2023)
The partnership that buried GT
Patidar and Krunal Pandya also stitched together a 95-run stand, now one of the biggest lower-order partnerships in IPL playoff history.
Highest partnerships for 4th wicket or lower in IPL playoffs:
- 106* - Miller & Hardik (GT) vs RR, 2022
- 96 - Iyer & Pant (DC) vs MI, 2020 Final
- 95 - Patidar & Krunal (RCB) vs GT, 2026*
- 92* - DK & Patidar (RCB) vs LSG, 2022
One shot away from another impossible record
Had Patidar reached his century, he would have become the first player in IPL history to score two playoff hundreds.
He already owns:
- 112* vs LSG in Eliminator 2022
- 93* vs GT in Qualifier 1 2026
Instead, he finished unbeaten, one boundary short of another historic landmark, after producing one of the cleanest and most destructive playoff innings the IPL has ever seen.
And somewhere in the middle of the Dharamshala mountains, Gujarat Titans probably realised they had not just been beaten for an evening. They had been added to Rajat Patidar's career highlights reel forever.
