IPL 2025: Tim David hails “well-planned” skipper Patidar ahead of MI clash

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 6 (ANI): Ahead of his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Tim David hailed skipper Rajat Patidar’s “high skill” as a batter and “calmness” as captain.

Patidar-led RCB will be aiming to make it three wins in three away from home after two giant victories against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as they take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. While RCB is placed in the second spot with two wins and a loss and has won both their away games so far against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), MI is at the eighth spot in the table with just one win and three losses.

Speaking on skipper Patidar during the pre-match presser, David said as quoted by a press note from RCB, “The first part about Rajat is his high skill as a batsman, he is aggressive and he backs himself to play his role, so that is wonderful to have, I watch these guys bat during the game and I love watching them bat. Secondly, he is very calm as a captain, he seems well-planned with his decisions and he’s building on from a great environment in this team, so it is great fun to be a part of.”

In three matches so far, Patidar has scored 97 runs at an average of 32.33 and a strike rate of over 161, with a half-century to his name.

On RCB’s performance so far, David was happy that his team could start off the tournament with wins at “traditionally tough” places in Kolkata and Chennai and is not dwelling on their loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) which marked a poor start to their home campaign.

“It is been a great start for us, two big wins on the road against KKR and Chennai, they have been traditionally tough places, those teams are strong in their home conditions, so that is a brilliant start for us. The last game, we lost early wickets, that happens, it is going to be tough to win games given the quality of this tournament if you are four down early, but I do not see many times in the season with the quality of our batting line-up that that’s going to happen,” he said.

“We are looking forward to this game, we have not dwelled too much on any match, it is very rewarding when you win and you take your lessons from losses. But again, another great game here to come to Mumbai, they have obviously set up their team to play well in these conditions at one of the best batting pitches in the country, so let us hope we get that tomorrow night,” he concluded.