Punjab Kings' (PBKS) Harshal Patel bagged a couple of wickets against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and reclaimed the purple cap in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. After getting the purple cap during the innings break, Patel said that he sees Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as his competitor.
“(It) Has been a see-saw. (Purple cap) Keeps going away from me. He (Bumrah) is someone who I see as a competitor, I aspire to be as good as him,” Patel who played his last T20I in January 2023 told the broadcasters.
The 33-year-old said that his slower yorker is a hard ball to pull off and has helped him get several wickets. He has been incredible in death overs. The pacer has taken 16 wickets during this period in the season so far.
“It is a difficult delivery to execute but once you start executing, it gives you a lot of confidence. If the batter doesn’t pick it, then it increases your chance of getting a wicket. I’ve been bowling it for almost five years now. In the last year and a half, I wasn’t able to execute it consistently so I didn't try it in the first half of the IPL,” he said.
“It gives me so many options at the death, the batters are ready for that slower one and I can sneak in a yorker or a quick length ball. And when you get the batters out, they can’t get that acceleration at the death.”
Patel got the wickets of impact player Donovan Ferreira and Riyan Parag at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati and conceded 28 runs from his quota of four overs. He helped PBKS restrict RR to 144/9. The target was chased down with seven balls to spare and five wickets in hand as Sam Curran played a captain's knock.
Patel’s competitors for purple cap
Patel has 22 wickets from 13 games, two more than Bumrah. The MI bowler has one game to go and can overtake Patel. However, among the teams who have already qualified for the playoff, Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) Varun Chakaravarthy and RR's Yuzvendra Chahal are next on the list with 18 and 17 wickets each.
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