IPL 2021: 3 reasons why RCB's Harshal Patel should rightly be the MVP
Disappointment was written all over Harshal Patel's face when he bowled what would be his final over in IPL 2021. His last over yielded just four runs as he ended with figures of 2 for 19 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Taking the game to the final over in the eliminator, Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to defend 139 and bowed out of the title race.
For Patel, this has already been a career-defining season, one that he will remember in the years to come. He may have missed out on vaulting Dwayne Bravo's record of most wickets in an IPL season, but equalling that is no average feat either.
With that in mind, let's take a look at why the Haryana pacer is most rightly the MVP of the season.
#1 Harshal Patel's consistency paid dividends
The average says it all. 14.34 at an economy of 8.14 that saw Harshal Patel clock his best-ever run in the IPL, and the result was RCB making the playoffs.
For a side that has had perennial bowling woes almost every season, Patel was a bright spot and his uncanny knack of picking wickets served well for the side.
#2 Performances that mattered
Harshal Patel had one fifer and one four-wicket haul in the tournament. To add to this, he put in the sort of performances that win games. He is the purple cap holder and unless Avesh Khan (23 wickets) manages to pick up nine wickets or more to equal or surpass Patel, the season has a new winner for that position.
The 30-year-old was drafted into the RCB side as a transfer from the Delhi Capitals. He broke the record for most wickets by an uncapped player in a single IPL season. He also breezed past Jasprit Bumrah's record of most wickets by an Indian bowler in one season in the T20 league.
#3 Game awareness
What stood out was Harshal Patel's game awareness and that was key to his dream season. Consider the last game against Kolkata where he bowled one into Sunil Narine who had all but sealed the game for the side.
After heaving for everything that came his way, Narine took a massive swipe to dig out the fuller delivery that was aimed at his legs, only to sky it and for Devdutt Padikkal to make a meal of the catch. This was just one such example of what Patel did in an all-important season — bowl to his strengths and keeping an eye out on what the batter was doing.