In defending 20 runs in the final over against Rajasthan Royals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fast bowler Harshal Patel didn't have an ideal start by getting hit for 10 runs in the first three balls.
But Patel immediately bounced back by having Ashwin slog straight to deep mid-wicket and gave away two singles on the last two balls to secure a seven-run win. Asked by fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj in a video posted on IPL's social media accounts, Patel said he had it in his mind to bowl difficult balls.
"The mindset was that it would be difficult to bowl slower balls because the wicket was slow and the ball was a bit soft. As (Ravichandran) Ashwin was trying to hit more (shots) towards the leg-side, I was trying to bowl the slower ones wide (outside off) as much as possible."
"It wasn't a problem for me, even if someone hit me for boundaries from that line. The idea at that time was to bowl difficult balls," he said.
Patel also claimed that Bangalore's bowling department is currently stronger than the batters on the form. "I feel that our bowling department is stronger (than the batting) in such conditions because twice we have defended (above) 175."
"In this match also, they (RCB batting) were ahead 5-7 runs above the par score but it wasn't a huge score that could easily be defended. But with the way you bowl in the Power-play and death overs, it makes life difficult for the opposition batters to chase down."
Patel was also appreciative of Suyash Prabhudessai, who took Ashwin's catch in the final over and pointed out the run-out he inflicted on big-hitting batter Shimron Hetmyer in the 18th over.
"In the last two games, we have almost made three-four runouts from direct hits. I want to give a special mention to Suyash because he couldn't contribute with the bat after being run out."
"The moment he walked on the field, it was visible in his eyes that he wanted to contribute to the fielding. Probably the runout of Hetty (Shimron Hetmyer) was a game-changer for us."
Siraj was further quizzed by Patel over his plan for castling Jos Buttler in the opening over. "With the match being a day game, it wasn't swinging much when I bowled the first ball to Yashasvi Jaiswal. Then I switched to my wobble-seam ball, which works in any condition."
"I always had it in me to bowl the first ball to Buttler as a scrambled seam, with him knowing that I will bowl outswing. But whatever I thought, it landed in the right area and got his wicket too. I was really pleased to get that wicket," he said.
Bangalore's next game in IPL 2023 will be at home against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday evening.
