Rajat Patidar was appointed as Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain in February 2025, and on Thursday (May 29), he joined MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya in an elite list by becoming the fifth Indian to qualify for the IPL final in his first year as captain. Under Patidar’s leadership, RCB hammered Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in the first qualifier of IPL 2025, played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, to book a place in the summit clash of IPL 2025.
Patidar won the toss and invited PBKS to bat first, after which the Shreyas Iyer-led side could only manage to post a total of 101 runs on the board in 14.1 overs. The target of 102 runs was not a tough one to chase down, and the three-time losing finalists achieved the objective in 10 overs for the loss of two wickets.
Dhoni was the first Indian to reach the IPL final in his first year as captain. He achieved the feat in 2008 for the Chennai Super Kings. Anil Kumble led RCB in 2009, and he also captained the Bengaluru-based franchise to the final, but like CSK, RCB also finished as runner-up.
Indians to reach IPL final in 1st year as captain
- MS Dhoni (CSK) – 2008
- Anil Kumble (RCB) – 2009
- Rohit Sharma (MI) – 2013
- Hardik Pandya (GT) – 2022
- Rajat Patidar (RCB) – 2025
Players to captain RCB in IPL final
- Anil Kumble – 2009
- Daniel Vettori – 2011
- Virat Kohli – 2016
- Rajat Patidar – 2025*
