Royal Challengers Bangalore outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad with an eight-wicket win in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Courtesy of Virat Kohli’s blistering hundred, the Royals put on a freakshow to chase down the target with their magnificent ball-striking on way to a 172-run opening stand, the highest partnership of the season, as they romped home with four balls to spare.
Speaking on Kohli’s sensational knock, RCB bowler Harshal Patel said it’s difficult to bowl to Virat Kohli when he gets going and that his timing to hit the balls is incredible.
“When he gets going it’s sort of hard to bowl to him, that’s a sign of a great player and I don’t need to sit here and say that he’s a great player, everyone knows that,” he said.
“The way just by playing cricketing shots, not doing anything fancy, the way he takes on the bowlers even on a slow pitch like this. The kind of shots he played, the kind of sixes that he hit, he’s obviously not a power hitter but the timing part of his batting is just so incredible,” he added.
The pacer was all praises for the former skipper and said that it’s remarkable to watch the kind of zest Kohli has on the field.
“His ability to keep going for 20 overs without getting tired, taking so many tools and even in the field he’s always buzzing – he’s going from long-on to long-on in 5 or 6 overs. His energy on the field, his commitment to the game and his skills on top of that are just remarkable to watch,” he said.
Patel also said that the RCB camp was confident despite losing their last two games on the trot and they knew they’d make a comeback.
“The mood was positive even when we lost two games because we knew even at that stage if we win every single game from that point we could still qualify and still probably be in the top two of the table,” he said.
“As a team we were only looking at the positives of how we can play best cricket,” he added.
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