This IPL victory really special for me, says Patidar

“After the Qualifier, we thought that we could go through. I think 190 was a good score on this track as it was a bit slow. Bowlers executing their plans were tremendous to watch,” the winning captain said

HYDERABAD: Rajat Patidar who led Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the first time, made it a truly memorable stint guiding the team to a fantastic, six-run win against Punjab Kings in the IPL final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night.

“It is really special for me, for Virat Kohli, and all the fans. Those who have supported us for years, they all deserve it,” Patidar said in the post-match briefing.

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“After the Qualifier, we thought that we could go through. I think 190 was a good score on this track as it was a bit slow. Bowlers executing their plans were tremendous to watch,” the winning captain said.

On left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya’s game-changing spell (4-017-2), Patidar said was a wicket-taking bowler and that he looked to him whenever they needed wickets.

“Suyash and the pacers were good all season. Shepherd gave the key wicket tonight. It’s a great opportunity for me and a great learning for me to captain Kohli, he deserves it more than anyone else,” he said.

And he signed off that famous one-liner which had become an integral part of RCB campaign this season – Ee sala cup namdu (this year the cup is ours).

For his part, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said he was dejected with the result but praised his teammates and the support staff. “The way we came up to the occasion, a lot of credit goes to the management and each and every player,” he said.

“Considering the last game we played here, I felt 200 was par personally. They bowled excellently. Krunal was phenomenal, used his experience, that was the turning point,” Shreyas said.

“Proud of each individual in our team, a lot of youngsters played their first season. Their fearlessness was phenomenal. Job is still half done, we have to win it next year,” he said.

“The way we turned up to every game was positive, they’ve gained a lot of experience and we can build on that next year,” Shreyas said.