'That's why he has the Purple Cap': Gambhir lauds Harshal Patel's exploits, explains why RCB has succeeded in IPL 2021

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir stated that not only has Harshal Patel taken up the most difficult task of bowling the death overs but also helped RCB win matches in IPL 2021.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has lavished rich praise on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowler Harshal Patel for solving the franchise's death-over bowling woes during IPL 2021.

'That's why he has the Purple Cap': Gautam Gambhir lauds Harshal Patel's exploits, explains why RCB has succeeded in IPL 2021 (PTI)

Patel, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the season and the owner of the “Purple Cap” at present, has played an important role in helping RCB qualify for the Playoffs by clinching 26 wickets. So far this season, he has a five-wicket haul to his name, a hat-trick, a four-wicket haul, and a few three-fers.

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While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gambhir stated that not only has Patel taken up the most difficult task of bowling the death overs but also helped RCB win matches.

"Harshal Patel has been the bowler of the season. He has bowled the most difficult overs for his side. Bowling death overs continuously against so many great batters in this IPL, and taking 5 wickets in one match and 4 in the other against MI, shows how successful he has been."

“Despite having poor stars with the ball in the powerplay, Bangalore managed to bounce back and win their matches. All the credit goes to Harshal Patel and Yuzi Chahal,” Gambhir explained.

Another important observation that the cricketer-turned-expert made was that Patel's performance was the missing link in the side as they lacked quality bowling. He further commented that batting was never the issue for Bangalore but it isn't enough to win a tournament like IPL. If it was, they would have already won multiple titles by now.

"The main issue over the past few years for the RCB was their death bowling. And Harshal has now taken that responsibility on his shoulders single-handedly. That's why he has the Purple Cap as well."

“You can talk about Kohli, Ab de Villiers, or Maxwell, but the truth is batters only set the team up but bowlers win you matches. Because if the batters would've won the games, RCB would've won IPL 3 or 4 times,” concluded Gambhir,