Virat is not a power-hitter but his timing is incredible: Harshal Patel

Royal Challengers Bangalore recorded an emphatic eight-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday, May 18, to boost their playoff chances.

After being asked to bat first, Sunrisers managed to score 186/5 in their quota of 20 overs, courtesy off a sublime century from Heinrich Klaasen. The wicket-keeper batter scored 104 off 51 deliveries, studded with eight boundaries and six maximums to power the team to a formidable total. 

In reply, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli forged a 172-run stand for the opening wicket to lay a solid foundation for the side and clinch vital two points. 

En route to this scintillating stand, Kohli smashed a delightful hundred off 62 deliveries to ace yet another must-win game for the Challengers. 

In the post-match press conference, Harshal Patel heaped praises on his former skipper 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."

"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," he added.

The pacer also credited the role of Kohli on the field and admitted his energy helps the team battle 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," he said. 

"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. 

Despite conceding 186 runs in the first innings, Harshal believed the team was confident at the halfway mark that it could chase down the total. "We were pretty confident at the halfway mark at the way we finished even after Klaasen's brilliant century."

We pulled things back very well, and I think it was a par score on this surface. With the kind of batting power we have all the way till number seven, we were very confident that if we start well in the powerplay and play to our strengths, then we can chase down this total. 

The Bangalore outfit lost two games against the Capitals and Mumbai Indians but bounced back in a commanding fashion against Rajasthan Royals and the Orange Army to move into the top four of the points table. 

"The mood was positive even when we lost two games because we knew even at that stage if we win 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," he concluded. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore will now face Gujarat Titans in an evening encounter on Sunday, May 21, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.