Ranji Trophy final: RCB star Rajat Patidar smashes century vs Mumbai, completes unique double post-IPL heroics

Continuing from his incredible form in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore star Rajat Patidar has been in fine touch in the ongoing Ranji Trophy for his state team Madhya Pradesh (MP). Patidar has delivered the goods for his team on the biggest stage and smashed a century in the final of the 2022 Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai.

Patidar's century at the home ground of his IPL franchise- Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium has helped MP take a massive first innings lead in the summit clash of India's premier first-class competition. Patidar reached the milestone in just 163 deliveries to build on from the sublime platform given up the top order. He was the third centurion of the innings for MP alongside Yash Dubey and Shubham Sharma.

By virtue of this feat, Patidar has completed a unique double having scored a century in both the knockouts of the IPL and the Ranji Trophy within the space of a month. In the 2022 IPL eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Eden Gardens, the RCB batter played one of the finest innings ever by an uncapped batter in the league's history to reach the three-figure mark and help RCB make the next stage. Patidar also scored a half-century in the second qualifier against Rajasthan Royals (RR) but it went in vain as RCB could not make it to the final.

Coming into the Ranji Trophy final, Patidar had scored a half-century for MP in both the quarter-final against Punjab and the semi-final against Bengal. Overall, Patidar is the second-highest run-scorer in the 2022 Ranji Trophy with a tally of 628 runs in six matches at an average of 78.50.

Talking about the ongoing match, Patidar was dismissed for 122. However, he has put MP on the brink of their maiden Ranji Trophy triumph with a massive first innings lead.