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As AB de Villiers failed to finish off the low-scoring run chase, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have almost lost their last chance of finishing in top two on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 points table. They can still qualify for the first qualifier if Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lose their next match by a big margin and RCB win their next one in a similar way Mumbai Indians (MI) did against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Despite the four-run loss, RCB are surely in the playoffs. However, not being able to chase down 142 is a big reason of worry for the side.
Bhuvenshwar shows nerves of steel
Bhuvneshwar Kumar shows the critics that he is still very capable of delivering in death overs which is a good sign for India ahead of T20 World Cup. Bhuvneshwar defended 13 runs in the last over, not letting one of the world’s best finisher AB de Villiers to take the game away in his typical manner. Earlier in the innings, he got the wicket of RCB skipper Virat Kohli to push the opponent on back foot from the first over.
Umran Malik – the fastest
Umran Malik, in his second IPL game bowled the fastest ball ever bowled by an Indian in IPL. Malik clocked 153kmph in the ninth over of RCB’s innings breaking the record of Navdeep Saini (152.85kmph). This is also the fastest delivery of the season. He took the wicket of wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat as well during his fast and furious but economical spell.
Roy shows promise
Jason Roy got SRH off to a good start despite the early wicket of Abhishek Sharma. Roy started well but could not capitalise as he scored 44 runs from 38 balls. Daniel Christian’s brilliant reflex catch ended the Englishman’s innings which helped in lowering the scoring rate. This was Roy’s second notable performance for SRH in the season. He scored a half-century on SRH debut after replacing an out-of-form David Warner.
Another record for Patel
With three wickets against SRH, Harshal Patel now has 29 wickets in the ongoing season. Patel surpassed Jasprit Bumrah to top the list of most wickets by an Indian bowler in a season. He also has a chance to get an IPL record to his name with few games to go this season. The RCB pacer can dethrone Dwayne Bravo from the top. The Caribbean all-rounder has 32 wickets to his name in a single IPL season.
