'A pretty special knock': Bobat hails Patidar after RCB's crushing win

During the post-match presentation, Rajat Patidar was asked if there had been a plan to attack the Gujarat Titans bowlers. "It's not a clear plan," he said, "but we're ready for it. You have to show some body language that we are coming for you."

The body language from captain Patidar himself wasn't loud. It peaked in a single shot, a back-foot six over extra cover off Kagiso Rabada. It was the second consecutive six off the fast bowler, coming in the same over that saw Krunal Pandya dismissed.

For someone known to dominate spin, the nature and timing of that stroke said enough. He wasn't waiting for the game to come to him.

"I think I called him a spin basher once and he got quite annoyed with me because I was implying it was only spin," RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat would later reveal with a smile. "I think he's probably trying to prove a point to me.

"Whether he's facing pace or spin, off the front foot or the back foot, the ball hits the middle of his bat an awful lot. He's got really sound basics and a pretty fearless intent, which is great to see."

Patidar's 93* off 33 balls on an up-and-down Dharamsala pitch sat at the heart of RCB's march into a second straight IPL final, with a convincing win over Gujarat Titans.

"Yeah, he's certainly batting brilliantly right now and he has done throughout the competition. That was a really special knock today and it was great to see," said Bobat.

"I'm sure he'll be really pleased about being able to stand up in a big Qualifier and a big game. That would be great for the collective confidence of the team. Any team that's got the captain playing well gets filled with even greater confidence.

"That was a pretty special knock. It's the sort of innings we're becoming accustomed to seeing from him now. Some outrageous shots, but with really aggressive intent. I think that's leading by example," he added.

Bobat also praised Patidar's calmness as captain, highlighting his ability to conserve energy for the key moments in matches.

"He's a very calm individual," Bobat said. "He keeps things pretty simple. He's somebody who wants to focus on doing his job when he gets on the field, and he's pretty relaxed with everything off the field.

"So he's very good at managing his own energy, which is serving him well right now because he's saving that energy for his batting, which is obviously going well, and also for when he needs to get his tactics right out in the middle. Long may that continue."

Beyond Patidar's brilliance, Bobat said the most satisfying aspect of the victory was the collective nature of the performance.

"I'm especially pleased that we've got a number of people contributing to wins. It was a pattern in the way we played last year," Bobat said.

"Everybody who had a chance to impact the game and put pressure on the opposition was able to do that.

"And if we do that often enough, and if everybody contributes and fulfils their roles, then results should take care of themselves. So that's probably the most encouraging thing to come out of today's game.

"If you can recruit a team where the guys walk towards those pressure situations and they can either counter-attack, take on a fiery opposition or absorb pressure and then execute really clinically, those are the things you're looking for."

Given Gujarat Titans' reliance on their prolific top order throughout the season, RCB knew a merely competitive total would not suffice.

"I've got a lot of respect for GT's batting line-up. They've got a very high-performing top order, so we put ourselves under a bit of healthy pressure and said we needed to take the game beyond them if we could," Bobat said.

"That aggressive intent from ball one mainly came out of respect for the opposition. We know how good they are.

"We know the quality of their top order, so we wanted to push the game beyond them as best we could."

RCB now head to Ahmedabad for the final with the opportunity to become only the third side in IPL history to successfully defend their title. There will be more body language from them in the final, but none may say as much as that one shot from Patidar.