'I will continue to put myself in those situations' - Harshal Patel on delivering well in death overs

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) sealed a spot in Qualifier 2 of this year’s IPL by defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Rajat Patidar was the star of the night as he smashed a scintillating knock of unbeaten 112 runs from 54 balls only.

His efforts made sure that RCB reached a massive total of 207 runs while Harshal Patel had an excellent evening also for stopping KL Rahul’s men from chasing that total down. He picked up the crucial wicket of Marcus Stoinis by conceding only 25 runs in his full four-over quota at an economy of 6.25. 

I was nervous, there is no doubt about that: Harshal Patel

Harshal found himself in a tough situation as he was given the responsibility to prevent LSG to score 41 runs off 18 balls. During the 18th over, the pacer gave away several runs as wides but eventually, he managed to scalp the wicket of Marcus Stoinis. In the post-match press conference, Harshal said –

“First of all, yes, I was nervous, there is no doubt about that. If you are defending 34 (41) 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 what worked for me in the first two overs, I want to go back to that and give myself the best opportunity to get KL (Rahul) and Stoinis out. Fortunately, I got Stoinis out at the boundary.”

“Whether I would be able to deliver or not, I don’t really know, I can’t say. But I want to be in those situations, there is no doubt about that and I have been wanting to do that for the past 2-3 years, I have been doing that for Haryana, and I wanted to do it at the bigger stage and I will continue to put myself in those situations, sometimes it is going to come off, sometimes it is not going to come off. There will be games where I will end up losing for the team and I am okay with that as long as I don’t shy away from challenges,” he further added.

Last year, Harshal was the Purple Cap winner while this year, he has bagged 19 wickets in 14 matches by bowling in these crucial overs. He also heaped high praises on Rajat Patidar as he looked “very determined” from day one in the camp.