IPL 2021: “Wasn’t overwhelmed when Virat Kohli hit me for a six” - Harpreet Brar
Punjab Kings (PBKS)'s left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, who dazzled against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by taking out their three big players, has said that he was not fazed after Virat Kohli hit him for a six.
Harpreet Brar took the wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB De Villiers to help his team to a 34-run win over RCB in Ahmedabad. Earlier, Virat Kohli had welcomed Harpreet Brar to the bowling attack with a six. But that didn’t dent the bowler’s confidence, as he responded with a Player-of-the-Match performance, taking out the creme de la creme of the RCB batting.
“I wasn’t overwhelmed when Kohli hit me because a bowler always gets a second chance to come back. My first IPL wicket was Kohli paaji’s wicket, and that was very special. It came out in a flow after that; your body opens up; you get confident, and things fall in place,” said the 25-year-old.
Chasing 180, RCB only managed 36 in their powerplay. Harpreet Brar was introduced into the bowling attack after six overs, and Kohli hit him for a straight six and smacked him for a boundary on the first ball off his second over.
Despite going for 17 runs in the first two overs, Harpreet Brar cleaned up Kohli and Glenn Maxwell off consecutive balls to peg back RCB. The left-arm spinner then forced AB de Villiers into a false shot with the first ball of his final over. By the time Harpreet Brar finished his spell of 4-0-19-3, the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion.
Hailing from Moga, the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder was picked up by PBKS in the IPL 2019 auction for INR 20 lakh. Playing only his fourth game in his third IPL season, Harpreet Brar pulled off a match-winning performance.
KL Rahul helped me in my batting: Harpreet Brar
Before dismantling the backbone of RCB’s batting with his left-arm spin, the young Harpreet Brar added a crucial 61-run stand off just 32 balls with KL Rahul. Brar slammed an unbeaten 17-ball 25, which included a six off the last ball of the PBKS innings.
“When I came out to bat, I had the time to wait for a couple of overs. Rahul paaji was also talking to me about the conditions and about the shots I could play,” he added.
With three wins from seven matches, PBKS have moved up to fifth spot in the points table. They will now play Delhi Capitals on Sunday in Ahmedabad.