‘Dedicating victory to fans who lost lives during stampede’:Rajat Patidar hails Virat Kohli’s contribution after winning second IPL title

After winning the IPL 2026 title, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dedicated their victory to the fans who lost their lives in last year’s Bangalore stampede. Captain Rajat Patidar dedicated their second title victory to the fans who lost their lives in the Bengaluru stampede incident last year during the champion’s roadshow last year in 2025. He also praised ‘King’ Kohli’s contribution for the outstanding season. During the post-match, RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik also appreciated Patidar’s captaincy throughout the entire season. ‘Dedicating this victory to fans who lost lives in stampede’ – Rajat Patidar RCB skipper Rajat Patidar dedicated Bengaluru’s second IPL title to the fans who lost their lives during the Stampede incident last year in 2025. The 32-year-old said, ‘’When you hear about such an incident, it’s very sad. On one side the team is celebrating, on the other side, fans lose their lives. They were not just fans, but part of the RCB family.” Rajat Patidar hailed Virat Kohli’s contribution against GT Patidar praised Virat Kohli for his contribution in the showdown against the Gujarat Titans at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium. He said, “Kohli helped me with technical aspects related to batting. He constantly guided the young players.” “’Whenever I see Virat bhai, he is always present for the team and the players. Young players may hesitate to approach him, but he himself takes the initiative to talk to them,” he concluded. Notably, Kohli has scored an unbeaten 75-run knock, facing 42 balls with a strike rate of 178.57, including nine boundaries and three sixes against GT in the final showdown at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Dinesh Karthik applauded Rajat Patidar’s captaincy During the post-match, speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, Dinesh Karthik spoke on the two-time winning captain Rajat Patidar. He said, “Rajat has been a huge calming influence in a dressing room that is high-octane and high testosterone. He keeps things very calm, and that’s so important. The bowlers thrive when you have a calm captain; it definitely helps under pressure. I think he likes to be a star, not a superstar. There are plenty of guys in that team who are big names and get the job done in high-pressure situations. The only time Rajat is aggressive is when he’s batting.” “Other than that, he brings a very calm atmosphere and is happy for a lot of the senior players to go front and centre, which I believe is a very important trait in a leader. He just sits back, allows things to get done, and does exactly what needs to be done in that moment,” RCB batting coach and mentor concluded. ‘Can see similarities with Dhoni, Rohit’: Saba Karim compared Patidar with IPL legends Former India wicket-keeper batter, Saba Karim, when asked on Rajat Patidar’s IPL performance, compared him with IPL legends like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. He said, “One of the biggest reasons behind RCB winning a second consecutive title has been the clarity around individual roles within the team, and Rajat Patidar deserves a lot of credit for that. If you look at his journey, he came in as a replacement player and eventually became the captain. For someone without international experience, earning respect in a dressing room filled with world-class players, including Virat Kohli, is not easy. Rajat earned that respect through consistent performances.” “Once he established himself, he became instrumental in shaping this side. He has played a major role in building a strong bowling unit. I also see a lot of clarity in his captaincy. When we talk about captains who have led teams to consecutive titles, names like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma come up, and I can see similarities in the way Rajat Patidar leads this team,” Karim concluded. ‘Lost due to top order flop’ – Shubman Gill
Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill attributed the loss to batting. He said the team could not reach the expected score. Gill said, ”If we had reached 180-190 runs, the contest could have been different. Losing early wickets broke our momentum. However, even after scoring 155 runs, we were confident that we could make a comeback in the match by taking early wickets.”