Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat said that he is happy to be able to provide a stable foundation for the team for the finishers like Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers after RCB beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 7 wickets in an IPL 2021 contest on Wednesday (September 29).
Bharat (44) and Maxwell (50*) were the chief contributors in RCB’s successful chase of RR’s 150, as they stitched a stand of 69 runs for the third wicket to help the side beat Rajasthan by 7-wicket in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) in Dubai on Wednesday.
Bharat said at the post-match press conference, “So, number three is always a beautiful spot to play. It asks a lot of questions if you are not ready for it. And at RCB, we have always focused on keeping the strike going and get busy right from ball one. And the little things of running and calling well and rotating the strike, all these little pointers, it plays a huge role in building up a partnership.”
He added, “The number three is someone who keeps the scoreboard ticking at 8 or 9 per over, then you will have a good base (and) for people like Maxi (Maxwell) and AB de Villiers coming in after 12th over. If you have the wickets in hand, then you can go all out towards the end of the innings. So, the message is clearly saying I should get a partnership going and we are sticking to it.”
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On being asked about the learnings from the likes of Virat Kohli and De Villiers, the Andhra keeper said: “If you play with Virat Bhai (Virat Kohli), AB (De Villiers) and (Glenn) Maxwell, you tend to learn a lot of good things in terms of cricket and as well as how to handle yourself on and off the field.”
On his 44-run knock and his partnership with Maxwell, Bharat said: “It is obviously a good feeling winning this game and coming back to it and contributing going out in the center.”
He signed off by saying, “Me and Maxi (Maxwell), we were having the conversation of what are the areas we could access and what are the boundary options...how many overs one particular bowler is going to bowl, what are his lengths, so it's all purely tactical things what we were discussing out in the center and it came out well.”
(With PTI Inputs)
