This 2025 IPL season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar has achieved a feat no other captain in the tournament’s history could—leading his team to away victories over Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the league’s most decorated franchises, all in a single season.
RCB’s latest triumph, a 12-run win over MI at the Wankhede Stadium, sealed the historic treble. With earlier victories at Eden Gardens against KKR and at Chepauk against CSK, Patidar now stands as the first captain to beat all three powerhouse teams at their fortress homes in the same IPL season—an unmatched record in the league’s 17-year history.
“This award belongs to our bowlers,” Patidar said humbly during the post-match presentation, after scoring a match-winning 64 off 32 balls. “It’s never easy to stop a side like Mumbai on this pitch, but the courage and discipline our bowling unit showed was simply outstanding.”
The win also broke a series of long-standing jinxes for RCB:
- First win over MI at Wankhede since 2015
- First win at Chepauk in 17 years
- First victory over KKR in Kolkata since 2019
This rare “away hat-trick” has only one historical parallel—Punjab Kings’ similar feat in 2012. However, PBKS achieved those victories under two different captains, Adam Gilchrist and David Hussey, making Patidar the only captain to pull off the triple single-handedly.
A New Era for RCB?
Having taken over the captaincy from veteran Faf du Plessis this season, Patidar’s leadership has been marked by tactical clarity, bold decision-making, and composure under pressure. Under his captaincy, RCB have won three of their four matches—all away games—with their only loss coming at home against Gujarat Titans.
“We knew we had to take the game deep,” Patidar explained. “Using Krunal [Pandya] in the last over was a calculated move, and Suyash [Sharma]’s spell in the middle overs gave us the edge. This win is about teamwork.”
At 31, Patidar is not just leading the team with the bat but has injected fresh belief into a side long known for star power but short on silverware. With consistent performances and historic wins, the RCB skipper is quickly becoming the story of IPL 2025.
