When I time the ball, my focus is on it. The last over of the powerplay when Krunal was bowling to me, my execution went fine then and I got confident afterwards. The wicket was pretty good and I played some good shots. I never feel any pressure as I think I have the ability to make up for the dots. I was busy after the 2021 IPL playing for my club. I wasn't picked after the 2021 IPL but that wasn't in my control.
Today was a special day. The guys put in a special performance. Over the moon. For a young guy to play like he did. The way he celebrated also tells you he has a good head on his shoulders. His hundred was one of the best I have seen in the IPL. Our bowlers were clear and calm and that was good. He has got all the shots. Every single time he attacks, he transfers the pressure back on the opposition. It is important to celebrate this despite something big coming up. We were very happy as a group. As a group we needed some calm presence. We didn't feel like it was a big game. Everyone was calm and relaxed. Harshal is the joker in the pack. A special card I can pick. He bowls the important overs. Second last one over from him changed the game for us.
My hand's fine, but there's a bit of an issue. I am happy as long as I can bowl my 24 balls. There were a lot of thoughts in my mind, I thought about it a lot - how I will work on my bowling. I was looking at my stats the other day, and figured out my hard length balls are going at 7.5 at an over. I had a plan to bowl wide to Stoinis, but it didn't come off well. So I went back to whatever worked for me in the first two overs. It feels exceptional, I can't describe the feeling. We want to come out as a good team and come out well on top from here on.
I think it's quite obvious - the reasons why we didn't win. We let ourselves down in the field. Dropping easy catches never helps. Difference was obviously Patidar playing such a knock. When someone in the top three scores a hundred, more often the team wins. They fielded really well and we were poor. We'll take back a lot of positives. It's a new franchise. We've made a lot of mistakes, every team does that. Have to try and come back stronger. It's a young team. They'll learn from their mistakes, go back home and try and be better players. Mohsin showed everybody how good he is and what skill he possesses. As he grows with confidence, he'll be able to clock speeds which are much higher. He will learn and develop a few more skills hopefully by next season.
It's all over! Royal Challengers Bangalore (207/4) beat Lucknow Super Giants (193/6) by 14 runs in the Eliminator. Bangalore will now play Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday
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