Our mantra is to play on our strengths – Rajat Patidar

RCB secured their seventh win of the IPL 2026 season, beating Mumbai Indians in a dramatic thriller in Raipur. A crucial knock from Krunal Pandya steadied the RCB ship; before that, Bhuvneshwar Kumar laid the foundation with an excellent bowling performance. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also struck a crucial six in the final over to get RCB close to the finish line.

Talking at the post-match presentation, RCB captain Rajat Patidar opened up on the thrills that tagged along in the pulsating battle between the two sides. He also opened up on the dynamics of the game while heaping praise on Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Shedding light on Krunal Pandya’s brilliance and his promotion in the batting order, Patidar said, “I think he's the man who's done it for the team. I think it's our (team's) decision. I think we have discussed in team meetings and all. And we know, the way he played. He played earlier also number five. But yeah we wanted to give him an opportunity to go at number five and he has done pretty well.”

Explaining the advantage of players who can make a difference in crunch situations, RaPa added, “I think it's our (team's) decision. I think we have discussed in team meetings and all. And we know, the way he played. He played earlier also number five. But yeah we wanted to give him an opportunity to go at number five and he has done pretty well.”

Heaping unreserved praise on Bhuvi, Patidar said, “I think it's unbelievable, I would say. I think the way he (Bhuvneshwar) controlled over the ball, his control over the ball, I think is super. And it's been difficult on a wicket that was two paced and variable bounce. I think it's very difficult to play him. Right now we are not bothered about the table because our mantra is to play on our strengths and play good cricket rather than looking on the table.”

He concluded with a word about the surface, stating, “I think bowlers have done a tremendous job there. Restricting them to 166, and that was, I would say, easily chaseable. But to be honest, I think we don't deserve to win this match because we have a skillful batting lineup. So no matter how the situation and the pitch condition is, we are capable enough to chase those targets easily.”