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Harshal Patel was elated after getting a hat-trick as he helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in completing a comprehensive victory by 54 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against Mumbai Indians (MI) here at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Harshal Patel (4-17) starred with the ball for RCB as the 30-year-old dismissed Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Rahul Chahar on three consecutive deliveries in the 17th over to turn the tide in favour of Virat Kohli-led side. Harshal Patel during the post-match presentation said: "I was thinking if the batters can't pick my slower balls then the bowlers also will find it difficult to spot (referring to Chahar's wicket that got him the hat-trick). I just bet on that." "This is my sixth time being on a hat-trick and finally got one, so pretty happy. He (Pollard) is somebody who can do damage if you bowl in his areas. We wanted to take him wide and then once you drag him wide you have the option to bluff him. That came off really well," he pointed. "The way Siraj started, he's someone who sets the tempo for us and the way Maxi and Chahal bowled in the middle overs were absolutely brilliant. They were under pressure at the death and we executed really well," he added. RCB captain Virat Kohli said: "Very happy and the way we won. It was a difficult start with the loss of Devdutt in the second over. I got off to a good start and KS took the pressure off me. 8 for 30 against such an unbelievable batting lineup is great." "You have to get into the bowler's space every now and then, especially against world-class performers like Bumrah. Tonight no complaints. Maybe in batting I will give it 8. We should've got 20-25 more. I went with DC - he bowled an amazing over, completely shut the game down and Harshal did an amazing job from the other end," he added. (ANI)
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