Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Harshal Patel opened up on the tense final few overs of the IPL 2022 Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants, and stated that he relishes such challenges regardless of the outcome.
RCB managed to overcome LSG by 14 runs in a high-scoring encounter at the Eden Gardens to inch a step closer to their fourth final appearance. The platform was laid by Rajat Patidar with the bat, who stroked a 54-ball 112* to power RCB to 207/4.
With the ball, it was Patel miserly 1/25 from two overs which made a major difference. Quite stunningly, he conceded just eight in the crucial 18th over while dismissing Marcus Stoinis after a bizarre start to the over with two wides, one of which flew past the diving wicketkeeper for a boundary.
He returned to restrict the opponents to nine runs in the final over of the game to close out on a well-earned win. The 31-year-old, who was labelled as the “joker in the pack” by skipper Faf du Plessis after the game, opened up on the challenges of death bowling.
“First of all, yes, I was nervous, there is no doubt about that.
If you are defending 34 off 18 balls, then you’re going to be nervous around it, but I knew when I gave away six runs without bowling a ball… gave away those wides, I knew that the wide yorker won’t work.
So I thought about what worked for me in the first two overs. Fortunately, I got Stoinis out at the boundary,”
Harshal said in a post-match presser.
Harshal stressed that he wanted to be in those situations despite it being a huge challenge. In the last two-three years, the RCB quick has moulded his game to thrive in these pressure situations. He spoke about doing that for Haryana, and then replicating that on the bigger stage in the Premier League.
He admitted that while there will be games where he ends up on the losing side, he is okay with it so long as he gets to be in those challenges and is fine about it.
RCB will take on Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on May 27.
