IPL 2021: Harshal Patel isn’t taking his place for granted in the Royal Challengers Bangalore starting XI

It took Harshal Patel almost 10 years and 97 T20s to bag his first five-for in the format. However, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer isn’t taking his place in the side for granted as he knows that fortunes can swing like a pendulum in a long tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Harshal Patel, who was picked ahead of Navdeep Saini, bowled a brilliant final over against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2021 opener in Chennai, where he claimed 3 wickets and went for a solitary run. He finished with figures of 4-0-27-5 and became the first-ever bowler to claim a five-for against the defending champions MI.

Though Harshal Patel believes that it makes a massive impact on one’s confidence to start well, the 30-year-old stated that it’s important to focus on planning and execution as things can change quickly in the IPL.

“You always want to start well, and it makes a massive impact on how you go on in the tournament. This is my 10th IPL, so I know it’s like a pendulum, and things can change very quickly – for good and bad. All you need to do is focus on your planning and execution.

“It’s important to take one game at a time and not be overconfident. At the same time, if you have a bad day on the field, you can’t be too depressed. It’s a long tournament, and you need to move on from any situation very quickly,” said Harshal Patel in the post-match press conference.

Harshal Patel also hit the winning run off the final ball to open the account for RCB.

Harshal Patel crosses another milestone

Making his IPL debut for RCB in the 2012 edition of the IPL, he spent his first 6 seasons with the Bengaluru-based franchise before being picked by the Delhi Capitals in 2018. He spent 3 seasons with Delhi before returning to RCB through a trade.

Harshal Patel has been looked at as a fringe player and didn’t play more than 5 games in a season since 2015. His previous best bowling figures of 3 for 28 came for the Delhi Capitals in the 2018 season.

Harshal Patel crossed the 50-wicket mark in the tournament opener against Mumbai. With 51 wickets from 49 IPL matches at a strike rate of 27 and an economy of rate of 8.69 runs per over, he will be expected to continue shouldering RCB’s death bowling responsibilities, an area the franchise has struggled in over the past few years.

#RCB win the #VIVOIPL 2021 season opener against #MI by two wickets.Scorecard - https://t.co/PiSqZirK1V #MIvRCB #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/87Cu6fkXO3

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2021