Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that his team felt the absence of their star pacer Harshal Patel after suffering a 23-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 22nd match of the ongoing IPL 2022 on Tuesday (April 12).
Notably, Harshal was not part of RCB's playing XI against CSK, as the pacer had to leave the IPL 2022 bio-bubble to return home after news of his sister's tragic death.
Batting first, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted a mammoth total of 216/4 in their 20 overs thanks to Shivam Dube's (95*) and Robin Uthappa’s (88) stunning knocks against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
For RCB, Wanindu Hasaranga snared 2 wickets against CSK.
Chasing the massive 217, the RCB could manage 193/9 to lose the game by 23 runs against CSK. For RCB, Shahbaz Ahmed was the top run-getter with 41 runs while Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja scalped four and three wickets respectively for CSK on Tuesday.
Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation: “First 7-8 overs were pretty good, then there was a period from 8-14 where Dube took the spinners on. During that period, whatever we tried didn't work. In order to chase down such a big score, you need one of the first four to set the foundation.”
He continued, “We didn't have that. CSK used their spinners well on a pitch that had some grip. The way we came back was a credit to the depth. You see the value of Harshal, and what he offers. He has the ability to stop the game. We missed that tonight, we had a similar tone to the bowling.”
The skipper concluded, “We lacked the variety we needed in our attack. Hopefully, we can have him soon again. Impressed with the way Prabhudessai played the way he did on debut.”
(With ANI Inputs)
