Rajat Patidar during the practice game
Less than a week ahead of the start of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) held their first intra-squad match on Sunday at Chennai's Center for Sports Science (CSS), in a bid to narrow down their playing XI for the impending tournament.
Captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are still undergoing their mandatory quarantine period, but 12 layers including Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj were part of the practice game where the newbies excelled.
Rajat Patidar, who was roped in at his base price during the auction in Chennai in February, scored a 35-ball 54 while Suyash Prabhudessai scored a 15-ball 25. The team batting first managed 153 runs with Saini picking three wickets while Chahal pulled off a figure of 2 of 20.
All-rounder Harshal Patel also played a brilliant role with his quickfire innings while also picking a few wickets and hence was awarded the Man of the Match trophy.
Following the match, batting coach Sanjay Bangar hailed Patidar's knock saying, "The beauty of his batting is that he plays proper cricketing shots."
RCB will be part of the season opener, where they will be up against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
