Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar reserved big praise for star opening batter Phil Salt on Thursday (May 29) after he scored an unbeaten half-century to help the Bengaluru-based franchise chase down the target of 102 runs in 10 overs and secure a big win by 8 wickets over Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh. The 28-year-old Salt opened the innings for RCB and remained unbeaten on 56 runs. He faced 27 balls and hammered six fours and three sixes. Salt helped RCB bounce back from the early loss of Virat Kohli (12 runs) and qualify for the IPL final for the fourth time in 18 years. Patidar, who became the fifth Indian to reach the IPL final in his first year as captain, lauded the England wicketkeeper-batter and said that he is a very big fan of his batting. “The way he (Salt) is batting in most of the matches. The way he is giving starts, I am a big fan of him. It’s a treat to watch him from the dugout. That’s really good,” Patidar said during the post-match presentation. The Madhya Pradesh-based cricketer, who was appointed as RCB captain earlier this year, also praised uncapped Indian spinner Suyash Sharma, who finished with figures of 3 for 17 in three overs and won the Player of the Match award. “I think we were clear in our plans, how we have to bowl. I think the fast bowlers used the surface really well. The way Suyash chipped in, the way he bowled his lines and lengths, that was really good.” “As a captain, I am clear about his bowling. He has to target the stumps; that’s his strength. His wrong ‘un is difficult to read for the batters. I always want to give him clear ideas; I don’t want to confuse him. I am okay if he concedes a few runs (in the process.) We have had a lot of practice sessions throughout the tournament, so one day of not practising won’t harm you,” he added. Suyash dismissed Shashank Singh, Musheer Khan and Marcus Stoinis on Thursday to bring an end to PBKS’ innings for just 101 runs in 14.1 overs.