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Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named 'Player of the Match' for his match-winning performance against the Mumbai Indians (MI) where he first picked four wickets and then hit a six in a tense situation, which helped the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) win the match in a last-ball thriller.
With nine runs needed to win in the last three balls, Bhuvi hit a six over the point region off Raj Angad Bawa's delivery to put RCB in a position from where they secured a two-wicket win to reach the top of the points table with their seventh win of the season. After accepting his POTM award, Bhuvi said he will remember that six at the end of the day. "That six for sure, because I've bowled many times. I've taken a few wickets before as well. But yeah, six is the thing I've enjoyed the most," said Kumar. The 36-year-old seamer is leading the wicket charts with 21 wickets and is the current holder of the Purple Cap. This is the fourth time he has taken 20+ wickets in an IPL season. He picked the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in the match, while conceding 23 runs in his full quota of four overs. Speaking about his inspiration, he said, "Honestly, motivation is a very overrated word for me. You read some quote, you see some video, and you get motivated for a few minutes and that fades away very quickly. But the thing which keeps me going is the discipline, and with that, yes, we have physios and trainers with the team, but I've got a physio and trainer back at home. They work hard with me as well. They help me to keep in shape. So I think credit goes to them as well." Krunal Pandya played a crucial knock of 73 runs off 46 balls with the help of five sixes and four fours. RCB sipper Rajat Patidar credited Pandya for his knock and said, "I think it's normal now, but it was a very tight match, overall I think, great game and especially KP (Krunal Pandya). I think he's the man who's done it for the team." Talking about Bhuvi, Patidar said, "I think the way he (Bhuvneshwar) controlled the ball, his control over the ball, I think, is super. And it's been difficult on a wicket that was two-paced and had variable bounce. I think it's very difficult to play him." With this victory, RCB move to the top of the standings with seven wins from 11 matches, while Mumbai Indians remain in ninth place with just three wins from their 11 fixtures. Speaking about the position in the points table, the skipper said, "Right now we are not bothered about the table because our mantra is to play on our strengths and play good cricket rather than looking at the table." (ANI)
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