IPL 2021 | MI vs RCB: What Experts said as Harshal Patel-ABD show dazzles Chepauk
The opener of an IPL season, hit by the pandemic, brought much-needed relief for the people as a modest scoring thriller was more than what was asked for. A match that see-sawed for the most part of it saw two heroes in Harshal Patel with the ball and Ab de Villiers with the bat. A movie is never complete just with heroes. There are side heroes, the supporting cast the villain and timing too. All the was supplied in equal proportions as RCB chased down 160 on just the last ball of the match to take decisive and more importantly morale-boosting two points. While Harshal Patel bagged a brilliant five-for de Villiers was there to guide the Red and Gold home. Captains' Viewpoints Reacting to the victory, Virat Kohli, the winning captain said, “It was important to play against the strongest opposition to test the depth of our team.” Saying that everyone got involved, everyone's got game time, Virat focussed on the bench strength of the team and how each player could be replaced by a like for like. Kohli, 32, got a start himself but didn’t look as smooth as he should have, eventually resulting in an innings, that looked more forced than a free-flowing one, as is expected from someone of his level. But instead of speaking on his approach, Kohli contested that it was the pitch that made the difference in the batting in the second half. “To be honest, the pitch was looking decent in the first half. I thought the dew might help, but as the ball got slower, the length ball got difficult to get away. It's not a ground where you can hit through the line unless the situation demands it. It's not going to be that momentum that you see in the IPL. especially in Chennai,” Kohli said, characterising the pitch that was offered in the opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In the last six overs of the RCB innings, the team conceded only 39 runs and took six wickets. Harshal was the destroyer in chief in those six overs as he picked five of the six wickets to fall. Calling it the best six overs in their team’s history, Kohli lauded Patel, saying that he is going to be their lead death bowler going into this season. “Harshal is relishing the role. He is going to be our designated death bowler. Very confident about what he wants to bring to the table and as a captain you want someone with that clarity. In T20 cricket that's all you ask from the bowler.” “And the wickets that he got weren't fluke wickets. He actually wanted the guys to hit the ball where he wanted them caught.” The chase master then went on to describe how Glenn Maxwell almost changed the complexion of the game (39 from 28 balls) with his stay at the crease. However, it was AB de Villiers that did most of the damage to the opposition with his quickfire 27 balls 40. Describing his contribution, the Delhi born said, “AB is probably the only player who's so versatile and can do what he did on slow pitches today, so we have to understand.” Rohit Sharma, the losing captain (not often though, but mostly in the opening matches of the tournament) was proud of the way his team fought. Talking about their streak of losing the opening match and then going on to win the Championship, Rohit said, “Winning the championship is important, I guess, not the first game. Great fight, we didn't let it go easily. Although the score wasn't something we were happy, to begin with.” Young Proteas all-rounder, Marco Jansen bowled the last over and while defending just eight runs, stretched the game to the last ball, in front of someone like AB de Villiers. Praising him, Sharma said, “[Jansen] is definitely a talent we've identified. When you look at the situation with four overs left they had AB and [Dan] Christian, that's why we went with [Jasprit] Bumrah and [Trent] Boult.” In hindsight, according to Rohit, the pitch wasn’t that great and it is getting time to gel as a group. The 33-year-old believes that the team will and can bounce back from this defeat as always. Expert Opinion Experts were elated with the way both the RCB men Harshal and ABD overpowered the situation to take their team home. Harshal’s five-wicket haul was the first by any bowler against Mumbai Indians and people couldn’t stop going gaga over it. Aakash Chopra said that the 29-year-old Haryana fast bowler owned the game with his skill set. Apart from Harshal, what impressed people was also the way de Villiers took the team over the lines. Saj Sadiq, a Pakistan journalist was most impressed by the work ethics of the 37-year-old’s work ethics. Ace Commentator Harsha Bhogle was won over by two overseas fast bowlers in Marco Jansen and Kyle Jamieson, both of whom playing from opposite sides, displayed some quality death bowling. Jamieson was hard to negotiate, even early on. Washington Sundar being promoted to open was a decision beyond understanding for many including cricket expert and analyst Ben Johnson. Vikrant Gupta, a veteran TV journalist went on to praise Virat Kohli for rediscovering Glenn Maxwell this season by offering him the all-important number-4 spot. Gaurav Kalra, a witty TV journalist and former India Test opener and Punjab Kings batting consultant, Wasim Jaffer were at their usual best as well. In the next affair, Mumbai would look to turn the tide around against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 13, while RCB would take on arch-rivals Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Deccan derby on April 14.
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