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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Harshal Patel has revealed that he accidentally scratched his IPL captain Virat Kohli’s thigh during his celebrations after completing his hat-trick in the match against the Mumbai Indians (MI).
RCB defeated MI by 54 runs in their previous 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter in Dubai. Harshal Patel claimed an IPL hat-trick, dismissing Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Rahul Chahar, as RCB rolled MI over for 111 after posting 165 for 6.
After Harshal Patel completed his hat-trick, there were some wild celebrations. Mohammed Siraj and Kohli, who were close to the bowler, suffered some minor bruises.
Speaking ahead of RCB’s clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Dubai on Wednesday, Harshal Patel quipped that his hat-trick celebration caused quite some damage. Asked if Siraj’s leg is fine, the RCB pacer smiled and said in an interview posted on IPLT20.COM:
“Yes, Siraj’s leg is fine. That was the first thing I asked after the celebrations got over. Luckily, he is fine. During the hat-trick celebration, I scratched Virat's thigh as well, so did quite some damage.”
On a serious note, Harshal Patel credited his ability to adapt as one of the keys to his success. The RCB pacer stated:
“Adaptation has always been a key part of my game, I adapt well to different situations and different conditions. That is something that I pride myself on.”
The 30-year-old was the leading wicket-taker in the India leg of IPL 2021 and remains the Purple cap holder. Asked whether he has had to make any changes for the second phase in the UAE, Harshal Patel explained:
“The grounds are bigger here and the wickets are slower, it suits my type of bowling. My mindset hasn't changed, my role hasn't changed. It was just a mental tweak to adapt to the conditions. More often than not you know what deliveries to be bowling in the death overs, execution is the key. At the top of my mark I am very sure of what I want to bowl.”
The RCB pacer has so far claimed 23 wickets in IPL 2021 at the strike rate of 9.47 and an economy rate of 8.58.
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“Talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process” - Harshal Patel
While RCB are currently in third position in the IPL points table, they are yet to seal their IPL 2021 playoffs berth. On the talk in the dressing room going into the matches in the second phase, Harshal Patel revealed:
“It's easy to say not to look at the points table, it's very tempting to look at it. At the end of the day, it doesn't serve any purpose. The talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process and the brand of cricket we play. What we did in the last two games, we came out all guns blazing with the ball and with the bat as well. We'll try to play the same brand, play consistently and hopefully we get the right result.”
RCB won the toss against RR on Wednesday and invited their opponents to bat first.
