Rajat Patidar only second captain in 19-year-old IPL history to achieve massive record as RCB reach final
Rajat Patidar achieved a huge captaincy record after leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their fifth IPL final. Patidar powered RCB to a record 254/4 with his jaw-dropping and unbeaten 93 as his team won Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Titans.
Rajat Patidar etched his name into the record books as he led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru into their fifth final of the Indian Premier League. Led by Patidar himself, it was an ultra-dominating performance by his troops as RCB decimated Gujarat Titans at the HPCA Stadium in Qualifier 1 to enter the final for the second straight time.
It marked the first instance of RCB reaching back-to-back IPL finals after their first three title match appearances came in 2009, 2011 and 2016. Patidar has created several captaincy records on what was a night to remember for him and his team.
Patidar joins Hardik Pandya in elite list
The RCB skipper, who scored an unbeaten 93 from 33 balls, has become only the second-ever captain to take his team to back-to-back finals in their first two captaincy seasons. Only Hardik Pandya had achieved the feat while leading Gujarat Titans to successive IPL finals in 2022 and 2023 in what were his first two seasons as an IPL skipper.
Patidar took over RCB's reins in 2025 from Faf du Plessis after a stellar Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he led Madhya Pradesh to the final in 2024. He led the franchise to end its 18-year-long wait of a title in IPL 2025.
Patidar fifth captain in back-to-back finals
Meanwhile, Patidar is only the RCB captain to have led the franchise to multiple IPL finals. Anil Kumble (2009), Daniel Vettori (2011), and Virat Kohli (2016) had all achieved the feat once. The RCB skipper is also the fifth captain to have led a franchise to back-to-back IPL finals, joining an elite list that features MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer.
Captains to lead teams in succussive IPL finals:
1 - MS Dhoni: Led CSK to 4 straight finals from 2010 to 2013
2 - Rohit Sharma: Led MI to IPL finals in 2019 and 2020
3 - Hardik Pandya: Led GT to IPL finals in 2022 and 2023
4 - Shreyas Iyer: Led KKR and PBKS to finals in 2024 and 2025
5 - Rajat Patidar: Led RCB to finals in 2025 and 2026
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