Clear-minded Patidar leads MP to SMAT final with his sixes

Madhya Pradesh (MP) have made it to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) final since 2010-11, and their captain Rajat Patidar has been key to their success this season. Ahead of the final against Mumbai on December 15, he has scored 347 runs, including four half-centuries, and batted at an impactful strike rate of 182.63.

Patidar has continued from where he had left off in the IPL this year, where he was Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) third-highest run-getter with 395 runs at a strike rate of 177.13. It is his six-hitting ability which has helped him gallop at that pace. While at the IPL he smacked 33 sixes in 13 innings, Patidar has 21 sixes in the SMAT across eight innings.

"I'm just trying to back my strength in the areas where I'm going to hit," Patidar said after taking MP to victory against Delhi in the semi-final on Friday, when he cracked 66 not out off just 29 balls. "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."

Patidar arrived to bat at a troublesome 46 for 3 in MP's chase of 147 against Delhi, and he got going in no time despite the situation. Facing pace bowler Himanshu Chauhan, he slashed his fifth ball for four past point, before dispatching Chauhan for six over deep square leg to take 14 runs from the over.

The sixes kept flowing off Patidar's bat - he thumped six of them in total - with heaves over midwicket and long-on, and the pull over square leg earning him the big hits.

"I try to put my impact on the opposition for my team," he said on his consistency. "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."

Even against Saurashtra in the quarter-final, Patidar had walked out in a tricky situation in a bigger chase, but he had his say in the game. MP's required run rate touched 10.14 an over with seven overs to go in their pursuit of 174, and he smashed 28 off 18 balls to help wrap up the chase with four deliveries remaining.

RCB's decision to retain Patidar for INR 11 crore for IPL 2025 has been vindicated by his performances in the SMAT. He feels RCB's decision has given him "a lot of confidence", and he "will be happy" if the opportunity to lead his IPL team arose 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," he said of his captaincy stint with MP. "It's a great time [which] I spend with my coach Chandrakant Pandit about captaincy. So, yeah, I am learning a lot."

MP face Mumbai in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, a team they had beaten by six wickets in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 final at the same ground. Patidar had scored 122 in that win, and he believes that the victory from two years ago will boost his side.