IPL 2021: RCB's Harshal Patel will be on the wish list of many teams

The Indian Premier League IPL crucible is boiling Fivetime champions Mumbai Indians were stopped from winning a game through the brilliance of Royal Challengers Bangalorersquos AB de Villiers and a brave spell by the understated Harshal PatelFive wickets in 24 balls from Patel was special It tells you in the remaining 19 balls he conceded only 27 runs which makes his spell restrictive yet wickettakingLynn rises to the occasionMI found an able replacement for the quarantined Quinton de Kock in Chris Lynn His 49 off 35 balls provided the momentum for MI to aim for an abovepar target Their lowerorder barring Suryakumar Yadav 31 off 23 balls and babyfaced Ishan Kishanrsquos 28 off 19 was unable to capitalise and give MI the abovepar score that they targetedFrom 1455 when they lost Kishan in the 18th over to 1599 at the end of the 20th is a synopsis of an ordinary finish Patel may not be on the periphery of India T20 selection but he will always be on the wish list of many a franchise With a few bowlers you know what to expect and his ilk will always be on the radar of team owners His Friday performance was a perfect set up for a glimpse for The ABD show No cricket after last yearrsquos IPL in the UAE did not lead to rustiness and that showed on Friday when he displayed a skill set that only he possessesCreating fear in the opposition while one is in the middle with a few balls to spare showed in ample measure that AB is the kind of batsman whose tribe is rare There is a sense of predictability with him in terms of finishing games This is a quality that comes with skill a deep understanding of onersquos ability to know how to create crevasses in the field placements and most importantly building the pressure on the opposition who are thinking of if hersquos there till the end hersquoll finish itWith Maxwell finding his touch of devastation it may be good for Virat Kohli to play around these two gamechangers up the order The flip side is the loss of early wickets and the domestic batsmen will have to contribute more than what was displayedMI arenrsquot great startersTo sum up Fridayrsquos game MI have never been great starters but when it comes to the dessert they more often than not seem to have a share of the pie This loss at the start of the tournament isnrsquot something they havenrsquot experienced before Their strength is depth and belief The loss of wickets in the final overs let them down as much as the brilliance of AB in the final oversIn what will be only a television sport due to the pandemic the IPL will now create a level of excitement that will be restricted to living rooms without masks I might add Stay safe and enjoy a great seasonFormer Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi is currently CEO of Baroda Cricket Association