Centurion Rajat Patidar turned out to be Royal Challengers Bangalore’s star in their 14-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in Wednesday’s Eliminator at the Eden.

The three-time finalists were in a spot of bother when they lost former captain Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell quickly and had slipped to 86 for 3 in the 11th over. But the 28-year-old batsman from Madhya Pradesh played out a blinder, hammering an unbeaten 112 off 54 balls in an innings comprising 12 fours and seven sixes.

Patidar’s focus was on timing the ball and finding the gaps. “It feels really good to have contributed as we could post such a good total on a good pitch,” Patidar, later adjudged the Man of the Match, said during the mid-innings break. “I just tried to time the ball well and place it in the gaps. The wicket was really good for batting, so I focused on that only.”

Century, though, was not on Patidar’s mind. “I wasn’t looking forward to getting my century. I was trying to get as many runs as possible,” he said.

RCB captain Faf du Plessis praised Patidar for his excellent innings. “Today (Wednesday) was a special day. I am over the moon with the way Rajat played.

“In a match like this, it’s a bit more pressure. The way he played and celebrated his hundred, tells me that he’s got a good head on his shoulder,” the South African said.

Rahul looks ahead

Lucknow captain KL Rahul, too, praised Patidar’s knock.

“It’s quite obvious why we didn’t win the game. We let ourselves down in the field in the first place, dropping easy catches. That never helps. But the difference between the teams was Patidar’s knock,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.

Rahul, however, believes Lucknow will come back stronger in the next edition. “Well, it’s a new franchise. We have made a lot of mistakes, but you’ve got to learn from it and come back stronger.”