NEWS
Follow UsHarshal Patel has toiled hard in domestic cricket for over a decade now to finally have his moment in glory. A terrific Indian Premier League season for Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he picked 32 wickets to emerge as the highest-wicket-taker, helped his accent to the Indian team for the New Zealand series. Making it further memorable, he won the Man of the Match award after picking two wickets in the crucial middle over period and pushed the Kiwis to slow down on the scoring rate.
Harshal was definitely ecstatic after the show but added that he was never an exceptionally talented player, hence working hard was the only way to be where he is right now.
"I couldn't have asked for a better debut. The progress is gradual and slow. For someone like me who is not exceptionally talented, I had to build my game from ground up. I made mistakes and then found things that I can and cannot do well. It has been a great journey and has taught me many lessons which will hold me in good stead even after cricket," Harshal said in the post-match presentation.
"The match did run through. When you are in the process you just get engrossed. It will sink in and it has been a great game," he added.
Both in IPL and in domestic cricket, Harshal has made a name for himself by bowling slower balls, which were in action on Friday as he dismissed Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips to give India the advantage. Harshal stated that he can't bowl yorkers and loopy slower ones once the dew took over, thus he had to be intelligent to be successful.
"I feel you don't need too many variations. You just need to know what works for you and need to package it well. I couldn't bowl those yorkers and loopy slower ones in these conditions. The yorker is a delivery I would like to use and get better at. I have seen myself fall into shiny things so many times. It (international cricket) is another platform for me to come, perform and show my skills. Just want to do that and enjoy whatever comes my way," he added.
