Royal Challengers Bangalore wicket-keeper batsman KS Bharat played an important role in the side’s convincing 7-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals in Dubai on Wednesday night.
Bharat struck an important 44 off 35 during the chase as RCB went over the line in the 18th over.
Talking about his role in the side, Bharat said that he is there in the lineup to stitch partnerships. “No.3 is always a beautiful spot to play," said Bharat in the post-match conference.
"Everyone always asks questions if you're not ready for it. We at RCB we've always focused on keeping the strike going and getting busy from ball one. It plays a huge role in building a partnership... we have AB and Maxi coming in after that and giving them the platform for a strong finish. My role is to get partnerships,” he further added.
RCB were off to a flying start during the 150-run chase but lost opener Devdutt Padikkal and captain Virat Kohli in quick succession to get reduced to 58/2. Later, Bharat along with Glenn Maxwell steadied the ship for the side and put 69 runs for the third wicket.
Bharat eventually departed while Maxwell went on to score another half-century in the competition and anchored the team to a win. Mustafizur Rahman picked up a couple of wickets for RR at the cost of 20 runs in 3 overs.
Earlier, RR too had a terrific start to the proceedings after being put in to bat by Kohli as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Lewis put 77 on the board for the first wicket.
While Jaiswal was sent back in the hut for 31 off 22, Lewis notched up a fifty but his departure saw wickets falling at regular intervals and the Royals were eventually restricted to 149/9 in 20 overs.
RCB have now won seven matches out of the 11 that they have played in the IPL 2021.