Gone are the days of Royal Challengers Bangalore finishing as the bottom two teams. In the previous two IPL seasons, RCB have entered the Playoffs and this season, their start has been positive. They have won two out of their first three games, with their latest victory coming against Rajasthan Royals, whom they beat by four wickets on Tuesday at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. (Also Read: 'Until you improve, we can't give you a match' - Mumbai Indians youngster recalls Hardik Pandya's strict words)
Dinesh Karthik was named player of the match for his innings of 44 not out off 23 balls having struck seven fours and a six. Karthik has conjured scores of 32*, 14* and 44*, but more than him remaining undefeated till the end, it is the manner in which he has successfully taken the role of a finisher with RCB is what stands out. But while Karthik has been on a roll for RCB so far this season, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has singled out someone else as the 'unsung hero' of the franchise and heaped heavy praise on the cricketer.
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"Harshal Patel is incredible for me because he is almost like the unsung hero. No one talks about him. He is not in the headlines but he keeps delivering game after game. He gets few wickets. He bowls key overs and it's just brilliant to see," Smith told Cricket.com.
Harshal, who was the Purple Cap holder last season for his incredible tally of 32 wickets – the join-most in a single edition of the IPL – has started off this season brilliantly, picking up four wickets in RCB's first three games. Although his figures of 1/36 came in a losing cause, Harshal bowled magnificently to finish with a miserly 2/18 against Kolkata Knight Riders and grabbed 1/18 from four overs against RR while bowling against the likes of big hitting batters Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer.
{{/usCountry}}Harshal, who was the Purple Cap holder last season for his incredible tally of 32 wickets – the join-most in a single edition of the IPL – has started off this season brilliantly, picking up four wickets in RCB's first three games. Although his figures of 1/36 came in a losing cause, Harshal bowled magnificently to finish with a miserly 2/18 against Kolkata Knight Riders and grabbed 1/18 from four overs against RR while bowling against the likes of big hitting batters Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer.
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