Harshal Patel praised Virat Kohli, says his timing is just incredible

Harshal Patel praised the former skipper Virat Kohli for his much-awaited century against Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday in a post-match presentation.

Virat Kohli ended his four-year century drought in a must-win match against SRH at their home ground. The century came when RCB came down to chase a 187-run target.

Virat and Faf Du Plessis's 172 runs partnership didn't give a single chance to SRH to get back into the games. The successful run chase clinched two points for RCB and boosted the chances to qualify for the playoffs.

Virat Kohli also got a Player of the Match award for his sixth century in IPL, which comes in just 62 deliveries.

Harshal Patel praised Virat Kohli

In a post-match press conference, the RCB pacer praised Virat Kohli's sensational knock and said, "When he gets going it’s sort of hard to bowl to him, that’s a sign of a great player and I don’t need to sit here and say that he’s a great player, everyone knows that."

He further added, "The way just by playing cricketing shots, not doing anything fancy, the way he takes on the bowlers even on a slow pitch like this. The kind of shots he played, the kind of sixes that he hit, he's obviously not a power hitter, but the timing part of his batting is just so incredible."

 

The pacer also credited Virat Kohli's energy in the field and admitted his energy helped him tackle crunch moments in the game. His ability to keep going for 20 overs without getting tired, taking so many tools and even in the field, he's always buzzing," Patel continued.

"He's going from long-on to long-on in the last five or six overs. His energy on the field, his commitment to the game and his skills on top of that are just remarkable to watch," he added.

The fast bowler also shared the team environment after losing 186 runs in the first inning, Harshal believed that RCB could chase down the target. "We were pretty confident at the halfway mark at the way we finished even after Klaasen's brilliant century," said the RCB bowler.

After defeating SRH in the last game, RCB reached the fourth spot, and their probability to qualify for the playoffs crossed 50%.

"The mood was positive even when we lost two games because we knew even at that stage if we won every single game from there we could still qualify and still probably be in the top two of the table."

"As a team, we were only looking at the positives of how we can play the best cricket," Harshal Patel concluded the post-match presentation.

RCB will face off against Gujarat Titans in their last league match, and it's a must-win game for RCB to ensure its qualification for the playoffs.