Harshal Patel has been in red hot form. He has the Purple Cap with him right now and looks in no mood to give it up. Barring an off day against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) be has bowled well in all the other matches. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is sitting at the top of the points table and Harshal is one of the major reasons for that. He once again made a vital contribution, helping RCB clinch a thrilling encounter against the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 1 run. He bowled the 17th and 19th over, conceding 10 and 11 runs against two set and destructive batsmen – Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer. However, what is the reason behind his success? How did he transform himself to such a dynamic player? Harshal Patel himself spoke about how he prepared himself for the IPL-2021.
While speaking to Mohammed Siraj, he spoke about his Kohli and co. Had asked him to prepare himself to bowl a lot of overs in the upcoming IPL-2021. ” When I was traded to RCB, the management and Virat Kohli said to me ‘You will be bowling quite a few overs in the middle and at the death.’ So I started working on my yorkers. I was executing it confidently in practice sessions. So I was able to bring that confidence in the match. Things are going well except for that one over in Mumbai where I was unable to execute anything.” He said. He also spoke about how he went about bowling the 17th and 19th over against Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer, who were well set and threatened to take the game away. “My plan was very simple. As long as I can execute my yorkers, I will keep bowling them. Even in the first innings we saw, well executed yorkers were tough to hit. So I was trying to execute as many yorkers as possible.” He said. Siraj was sensational as well and bowled a super last over against DC ” I backed my yorkers and executed it. Even in Mumbai my plan was the same. My plan was to execute the yorkers. I was okay to bowl full tosses but didn’t want my length to fall short. So plan to both of them was the same and the boundary was also big. With 2 balls 10 needed, I had only one option and that was to go for wide yorkers. Even if he hit, it wouldn’t go for six as the boundaries are big.” Siraj said this in a chat with Harshal Patel. Both of them have been very good for RCB.
So far, Harshal Patel has picked 17 wickets in just 6 matches. He has a very good chance of getting the most number of wickets in a single season. CSK’s Dwayne Bravo still holds that record as he picked 32 wickets in the sixth edition of the league in 2013. Harshal patel needs 16 more wickets to break that record. One shouldn’t be surprised if he does manage to do the same. Patel has already ensured that RCB are at the top of the table once again and are continuing their good form. RCB have won 5 out of their 6 matches and need to win only 3 more games to ensure a spot in the playoffs of IPL-2021.