NEWS
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore batter KS Bharat said that Glenn Maxwell's trust in him to finish the game gave him the confidence to hit the winning six against Delhi Capitals. With six required off the final two balls, Bharat missed the Avesh Khan's penultimate ball but dispatched the final to a six to seal thrilling seven-wicket win Virat Kohli's side on Friday.
"In the final over, me and Maxi were talking about what were the areas we can access. For the last three balls, I was asking him whether to run so he told me 'No, you go ahead. You finish it off.' It gave me the confidence," Bharat said in the post-match press conference.
Bharat, who scored an unbeaten 78 off 52 balls, was promoted back to No.3 after being pushed to No. 6 for majority of the season. He felt that everyone in the batting department are ready to bat across the order.
"We are a very flexible batting lineup so I can bat anywhere. We have always batted according to the matches. Me and AB were thinking of rotating the strike well and build a mini partnership so that others can finish it off," he said,
Bharat also praised Mohammed Siraj for his performance of 2-25 which was crucial for RCB in restricting DC to 164/5 in 20 overs.
"Siraj is someone who gives his 100% every time he runs in with the ball. Wickets aren't a matter when the team is doing well. He knows his role well and he is delivering," he said.
DC skipper Rishabh Pant said that Shreyas Iyer had a shoulder niggle during the second innings of the match. Iyer had missed the first leg of the IPL due to shoulder surgery in April when Pant had taken over the captaincy.
"Shreyas had an issue with his shoulder. I don't really know what it is right now as I did not get the time to go into the dressing room. The physios will give an update," Pant said.
Pant felt that the team won't be bothered by Avesh Khan's final over where the pacer missed a yorker off the final ball which Bharat converted into a six.
"For the final over, we were focused on bowling yorkers and slower ones. There was dew in the latter half of the match, which was making gripping difficult for fast bowlers. But he (Avesh) has been bowling fantastically throughout the season so we will not be focusing on one bad day," Pant said.