Video of KS Bharat match winning six : RCB vs DC

RCB vs DC, 08 October 2021, 07:30 PM IST

Match Result : RCB win by 7 wickets

Player of the Match : Srikar Bharat

Match Report : Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Eight runs off two balls, and Bharat takes a second run to keep strike and keeps Maxwell off strike. That seemed wrong. Then Avesh, who until then, was nailing his yorkers, gifts one well down leg.

That seemed wrong too. This is where champions show up, and this is where champions crumble. And this is what pressure does. Kohli runs out to the middle, Maxwell is ecstatic, and RCB have unearthed a star.

Importantly, with the auctions coming up, an uncapped star. This game just kept switching hands, with RCB looking in real trouble when AB fell, before Maxwell and Bharat snatched the momentum back, only for Avesh and Nortje to nail their quick yorkers and make it look like a done deal. Alas. It wasn’t to be. It never is in the IPL.

Hitting a six off the final ball with 5/6 required (IPL)
Dwayne Bravo off Rajat Bhatia Kolkata 2012
MS Dhoni off Axar Patel Vizag 2016
KS Bharat off Avesh Khan 2021

Rishabh Pant, losing captain: “We know how important fielding is in T20s. If you field the way we did, you deserve to lose. We also lost too many wickets while batting. But we will have to field better next time, I guess.

It was difficult for the fast bowlers with the dew, but the fielding has to support the bowling unit. We are not feeling great because you want to win these kind of matches.”

AB de Villiers: “Very happy that the boys went across the line. Much needed momentum before the knockouts. We haven’t always had the best of starts in the powerplay, but today we bowled well to Prithvi and Dhawan.

It showed once again that there is a lot of character in the bowling unit. I’m feeling good. Not a lot of batting opportunities but I’m striking it hard. We need to up it a notch in the knockouts. We are close to our best cricket.”

Virat Kohli, winning captain: “Unbelievable. It was a game we had nothing to lose but still to lose early wickets and do well against a team at the top of the table is good. We’ve beaten them twice this season. We knew bowlers had potential to keep things under control.

The way AB and KS first batted was good. And then the partnership between Maxi and KS was amazing. We knew the reality of making second was a 163-run win, so we chose to field first. Pulling off a chase gives you a different kind of confidence going into a playoff.

And we haven’t chased much in the tournament, so its also important to do well batting second. You should be able to pull out anything you need on the day of the game. No. 3 hasn’t been an issue at all.”

KS Bharat | Player of the Match : “It was great winning on the last ball. It was an incredible feeling to finish it off. Maxwell and I were communicating in the centre well. At any point, I wasn’t nervous at all.

Tried to stay in the present and was looking for the opportunity in the last ball after the wide. I work on my batting against spinners. I don’t believe in anything coming for free, so I work hard for it.”

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