Punjab Kings (PBKS) spinner Harpreet Brar had a memorable outing in his first game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday (April 29) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Playing his first IPL 14 game on Friday, the left-arm spinner dismissed the world-class and in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stars Virat Kohli (35), Glenn Maxwell (0), and AB de Villiers (3) to return with impressive figures of 3/19 in his four-over spell including a maiden over in Ahmedabad.
The young spinner clean-bowled Kohli and Maxwell and then set up an off-side trap to force De Villiers into trying a lofted shot without any success to return with a dream spell in the IPL 2021 contest. He also contributed with the bat as well, scoring an unbeaten 25 off 17 balls to win the Player of the Match award.
Following his memorable contribution to PBKS’ 34-run win over RCB, the 25-year-old spinner revealed his strategy on how he outfoxed two of the modern-day greats Kohli and De Villiers on Friday.
Brar said of his plans against De Villiers: “My plan against De Villiers was to bowl a touch wider outside off-stump and out of his slot since the ball was gripping a bit. That’s why I brought in a slip and had covers to come up slightly. I wanted to bowl a dot but also managed to get a wicket. I am blessed.”
Against RCB captain Kohli, the spinner said: “My strategy was to hit the right length and not worry even if he hits me for a boundary. If the batsman charges down the track then you alter the length.”
He also said playing with a free mind and not thinking too much about the result has helped him to get the wickets of the top three players of the RCB – the first time he managed to take wickets in the IPL despite having played in the last two seasons as well.
Brar signed off by saying, “I just wanted to play bindaas (carefree) cricket come what may. I didn’t want to take too much stress and play my natural game. It’s not that I hadn’t played with pressure earlier. I had, but when you don’t perform under pressure, you tend to be overburdened with more pressure. I had this in mind that once I get a chance, I will try and win a match for my franchise.”
(With PTI Inputs)
