"Bowling better spin than Chahal"- Twitterati reacts to Harshal Patel's stunning fifer against MI
Harshal Patel has become the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the history of the IPL. The 30-year-old was absolutely sensational with his change of pace and the MI power-hitters had no answer to his variations.
MI have had a reputation for being the most destructive batting team at the death. However, Harshal Patel showed that the defending champions aren't invincible and has given the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) a real chance to win their opening game of the IPL 2021 season.
Fans on Twitter hail Harshal Patel for his fifer
RCB fans are going gaga over Harsal Patel's unbelievable figures of 5-27. The fact that the pacer was traded in from the Delhi Capitals speaks volumes about the planning of the franchise behind getting their man. Here's what the fans had to say about the 30-year-old's performance:
After losing the wicket of skipper Rohit Sharma early on, MI debutants Chris Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav consolidated their innings and looked set to tee off in the last few overs. However, the RCB bowlers kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals.
At 128-3 after 15 overs and with power-hitters like Kieron Pollard to follow, MI had prepared the right platform to explode in the final five overs. But the RCB bowlers led by Harshal Patel pulled things back magnificently, conceding just 31 runs and picking up six wickets at the death.
Harshal Patel gave away just one run in the last over and almost picked up a hat-trick. Although RCB have restricted MI brilliantly, a target of 160 can still be tricky. Virat Kohli might need to bat a majority of RCB's overs if they want to ensure there are no hiccups in the chase.
The MI bowlers must have surely taken note of the fact that change of pace is the way to go on this two-paced track at Chepauk. This game has all the ingredients to go right down to the wire.