Rajat Patidar will captain the Gwalior Cheetahs in the tournament but it didn’t start the way he would have expected, especially after the IPL 2026 success
Published: June 4, 2026, 2:02 PM IST
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s captain Rajat Patidar plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Photo: IANS)
Just days after captaining the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to back-to-back Indian Premier League titles, Rajat Patidar got out for a score of 11 off 8 in his return to competitive cricket at the Madhya Pradesh Premier League 2026 opener at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Rajat Patidar will captain the Gwalior Cheetahs in the tournament but it didn’t start the way he would have expected, especially after the IPL 2026 success. The Madhya Pradesh batter became the first captain of the South Indian franchise to guide them to consecutive trophies.
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He had a sensational season himself with the bat, scoring 501 runs in 15 matches at an IPL career best strike rate of 192 with 5 half-centuries to his name. Patidar’s best knock came at the backend of the tournament when he smacked 93* against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 which had paved the way for RCB’s one-sided victory.
In the final, his bat might have remained quite but Rajat Patidar joined the likes of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as the only 3rd captain to win the IPL twice in a row. His reputation has surely gone upwards with chances of an India call-up very much a possibility now.
What happened in the Gwalior vs Ujjain match?
After being put in to bat, the Ujjain Falcons got off to a flyer through captain Chanchal Rathore (33) and Yash Dubey (37) before dynamic all-rounder Madhav Tiwari stole the show. Tiwari, fresh off an impressive IPL stint with the Delhi Capitals, smashed a sensational 62 off just 31 deliveries to help his side post a massive total of 221/6.
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In response, Gwalior’s chase never found its rhythm against a disciplined Ujjain attack. Despite a quickfire 46 from Parth Chaudhary, the Cheetahs crumbled under pressure. The decisive blow came when Rishi Miglani trapped Gwalior captain Rajat Patidar for just 11 with Gwalior eventually getting all out for 129.
Rajat Patidar and his side will be looking to bounce back from this defeat and pick up their first win when they take on Bhopal Leopards on Friday, June 5.
