IPL 2026 final | 'Rajat Patidar deserves a lot of credit...': Saba Karim on RCB's triumph

In the IPL 2026 final match against Gujarat Titans GT Royal Challengers Bengaluru RCB emerged victorious by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in AhmedabadThe victory also helped the Royal Challengers to successfully defend their title Following the victory former Team India cricketer Saba Karim said that skipper Rajat Patidar deserves a lot of credit He also feels that it is difficult for a player to earn respect with no international experienceOne 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 worldclass players including Virat Kohli is not easy Rajat earned that respect through consistent performances he said on JioHotstarThe former cricketer also said that he sees a similarity between the captaincy of Rajat and that of MS Dhoni and Rohit SharmaOnce 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 added KarimIPL 2026 final Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Match summaryWith an aim of chasing the target of 156 runs RCB scored 161 runs for the loss of five wickets in 18 oversImpact Player Venkatesh Iyer smashed 31 runs in just 16 balls with the help of four boundaries and two maximums Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed on one run in four ballsSkipper Rajat Patidar scored 15 runs before departing Facing 13 balls he smashed a boundary and a maximum Krunal Pandyas innings also came to an end with one run in two balls Tim David accumulated 24 runs in 17 balls before departing His knock included three boundaries and a maximumFacing 42 balls stalwart Virat Kohli garnered an unbeaten 75 runs laced with nine boundaries and three maximums Shouldering him was wicketkeeperbatsman Jitesh Sharma who scored an unbeaten 11 runs in 14 balls with the help of a boundaryGujarats Rashid Khan claimed two wickets Mohammed Siraj Kagiso Rabada and Arshad Khan also bagged one wicket each Impact Player Prasidh Krishna and Jason Holder went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against BengaluruEarlier having been put to bat first GTs opening batsman Sai Sudharsan managed to score 12 runs in 12 balls including two boundaries Captain Shubman Gill registered 10 runs in eight balls with the help of two boundariesFacing 18 balls Nishant Sindhu scored 20 runs which included three boundaries Wicketkeeperbatsman Jos Buttler departed after scoring 19 runs in 23 balls His knock included a boundary Arshad Khan lost his wicket in 15 runs in six balls including two maximumsLater Jason Holder was dismissed on seven runs in five balls including a boundary Washington Sundar played a fighting knock of an unbeaten 50 runs off 37 deliveries laced with five boundaries Rashid Khan also scored seven runs in three balls including a maximum Rahul Tewatia registered seven runs in five balls including a boundary Kagiso Rabada stayed unbeaten on three runs in three balls With this the Titans posted a total of 155 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs against the Royal ChallengersBengalurus Rasikh Salam returned with the figures of three wickets for 27 runs in four overs Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood claimed two wickets each Krunal Pandya also chipped in with one wicket Jacob Duffy went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against the Titans