‘The way bowlers have shown courage…’: RCB skipper Patidar dedicates ‘PoTM’ award to bowling unit following win over MI

MUMBAI: Following his side’s 12 run win over Mumbai Indians (MI), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar hailed the bowlers for showing courage during such a tough target defence and said that his ‘Player of the Match’ award actually goes to them for being able to control a batting unit on such batter-friendly conditions in Mumbai.

Rajat-led RCB continues to defy narratives and breach fortresses after beating five-time Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk after 17 years, they have now beaten five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede for the first time in 10 overs, overcoming a scary partnership between Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya that threatened to chase down 222 runs set by RCB.

Following the match, RCB skipper said during the post-match presentation, “That was a really amazing match. the way the bowlers have shown courage, it was amazing. To be honest, this award goes to the bowling unit because it is not easy to stop a batting unit on this ground, so the credit goes to them. The way the fast bowlers executed their plans was great. The way Krunal has bowled is amazing. In the last over, it was not easy, I think the way he has bowled and the courage he has shown is amazing.

“At that time, it was clear that we have to take the game deep (during death overs while defending the total). So, the discussion was to take the game deep and use KP’s one over at the last. The wicket was good and the ball was coming on nicely to the bat. After the Hardik Pandya over, I went all out (with the bat). The wrist spinner is one of the main bowlers because they are wicket-taking and the way he bowled was great (on young spinner Suyash Sharma, who delivered a spell of 0/32 in four overs),” he concluded.

Coming to the match, MI won the toss and opted to field first. Though Phil Salt departed early, Virat (67 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes) and Devdutt Padikkal (37 in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) made sure MI regretted their decision as they put on a counter-attacking 91-run stand. After the dismissal of this duo, skipper Rajat Patidar (64 in 32 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Jitesh Sharma (40* in 19 balls, with two fours and four sixes) made sure that the run-rate never went down. RCB ended at 221/5.

Hardik Pandya (2/45), the skipper and Trent Boult (2/57) took two wickets but leaked runs. Vignesh Puthur got a wicket as well. Jasprit Bumrah delivered figures of 0/29 in four overs on his comeback.

During the run-chase, MI was 99/4 in 12 overs. But an explosive 89 run stand between Tilak Varma (56 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and skipper Hardik Pandya (42 in 15 balls, with three fours and four sixes) threatened to take the game away from RCB.

However, Krunal (4/45), Josh Hazlewood (2/37) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/48) came in clutch with crucial wickets at the right times, helping secure RCB a 12-run win.

RCB is at the third spot with three wins and a loss in four matches and all their three wins have been away from home. MI have won just one out of their five games and are standing at eighth spot. (ANI)