Rajat Patidar after historic win against CSK at Chepauk: 'My goal was clear that as long as I was there...’

Rajat Patidar played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s emphatic 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025, ending their 17-year winless streak at Chepauk. The RCB captain’s vital 51 off 32 balls provided his team with the necessary momentum to post a competitive 196/7 on a tricky surface. RCB bowlers then did their job to restrict CSK to 146/8 in 20 overs and win their first game at the venue after 2008.

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Speaking after the match, Patidar emphasised the challenges of batting at Chepauk and how his goal was to stay at the crease for as long as possible to ensure a strong total for his team. “It was a good total on this surface. The ball was stopping a bit, and it wasn’t easy for batters. It’s always special playing at Chepauk against Chennai because of the fans. Not only CSK but for every team, it is nice to play in their home ground,” he said.

Patidar was dropped three times by the CSK fielders, and he made full use of the lifelines to push RCB towards a above-par score in Chennai. His knock, coupled with late fireworks from Tim David (22 off 8 balls), made up for a mid-innings slump. Early on, Phil Salt (32 off 16) and Devdutt Padikkal (27 off 14) contributed before RCB lost quick wickets, including that of Virat Kohli (31 off 30), who struggled to find his rhythm.

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The match-defining moment, however, came with RCB’s disciplined bowling effort, led by Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal. Hazlewood struck early, removing Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the powerplay, while Dayal’s twin strikes in the 13th over derailed CSK’s chase completely.

CSK captain blames poor fielding after the loss

Reflecting on the defeat, Gaikwad admitted that CSK were always behind in the game after a poor fielding effort. “To be honest, I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket. It wasn’t great to bat on. A bad day in the field cost us really badly. When you are chasing 170, you bat differently, but when you’re chasing 20 runs extra, you always want to be a step ahead of the game. That’s what the thinking was, but it didn’t really work out,” he said.

CSK will now have to regroup before their next fixture in Guwahati, while RCB will take plenty of confidence from their dominant performance. RCB have consolidated their position at the top of the points table with four points.