The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were at their best in their recent encounter against the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) as the former broke their seven-match losing streak in UAE and registered a 54-run win in match 39 of IPL 2021.
While the MI was able to restrict RCB to 165/6 in their 20 overs after a great start for the latter, the Virat Kohli-led franchise on the other hand bowled their heart out and earned these two points to get to 12 points in 10 matches.
RCB pacer Harshal Patel who starred with the ball in hand as the right-arm quick picked 4-17 against MI included a hat-trick as Patel dismissed Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Rahul Chahar on three consecutive deliveries in the 17th over.
“I was thinking if the batters can't pick my slower balls then the bowlers also will find it difficult to spot (referring to Chahar's wicket that got him the hat-trick). I just bet on that,” Harshal Patel said during the post-match presentation.
“This is my sixth time being on a hat-trick and finally got one, so pretty happy. He (Pollard) is somebody who can do damage if you bowl in his areas. We wanted to take him wide and then once you drag him wide you have the option to bluff him. That came off really well,” he added.
The quick bowler then lauded RCB’s bowling unit for their amazing performance after MI were off to a good start with both their openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock looking in fine touch.
“The way Siraj started, he's someone who sets the tempo for us and the way Maxi and Chahal bowled in the middle overs was absolutely brilliant. They were under pressure at the death and we executed really well,” RCB’s Harshal Patel concluded.
IPL 2021: WATCH - Virat Kohli consoles a very dejected Ishan Kishan after MI lost to RCB
The RCB skipper Virat Kohli was also delighted with the way his side came back and registered a fantastic win against the five-time champions.
“Very happy and the way we won. It was a difficult start with the loss of Devdutt in the second over. I got off to a good start and KS took the pressure off me. 8 for 30 against such an unbelievable batting lineup is great,” Kohli said.
“You have to get into the bowler's space every now and then, especially against world-class performers like Bumrah. Tonight no complaints. Maybe in batting, I will give it 8. We should've got 20-25 more. I went with DC - he bowled an amazing over, completely shut the game down and Harshal did an amazing job from the other end,” the RCB skipper concluded.
(With ANI Inputs)
