Patidar: 'Virat Kohli deserves it more than anyone else'
Krunal Pandya, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood and others also react to RCB’s maiden IPL title
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-20252:38
Aaron: Patidar a huge factor in RCB’s title win
Rajat Patidar: It is really special for me, special for Virat Kohli and all the fans who have supported us for years. So I think they all deserve it. After Qualifier 1, we thought we could do this. I think 190 was a good score on this track because it was a bit slow. The way our bowlers executed their plans, that was tremendous to watch.[On Krunal Pandya] Of course, he is a wicket-taking bowler. Whenever I come under pressure, I check where KP is. I had a lot of belief in him.Related
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Suyash [Sharma] also bowled really well throughout the season and all the bowlers, fast bowlers, Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], Yash [Dayal], [Josh] Hazlewood. And the way Romario [Shepherd] came in and the way he gave two-three overs and that breakthrough [Shreyas Iyer’s wicket], I think that was really special.It’s a great opportunity for me to captain him [Virat Kohli] and it was a great learning for me. And as I said, I think he deserves it more than anyone else – Virat Kohli and all the fans. And after that, I think everyone who has supported, everyone, the management, the support staff, the coaching staff. I think the way they have supported every player, I think that was beautiful.Krunal Pandya, Player of the Match: When we batted in the first innings, I had a discussion with the batters and realised that the slower you bowl, the better it is, and it is difficult [for batters to hit]. In this format, as a bowler, you need guts to do that because the margin of error becomes very minimal. I just backed myself and thought that if I could vary my pace and keep it more on the slower side, I would create chances, rather than just firing it in.
What has been my biggest strength is learning what the situation required. I have always backed my gut and instinct, and today also, I realised that if I was able to take a couple of wickets in the middle – I had to be slightly brave, then the game would be in our hands. I just thought that if I could bowl slow, I would be able to get a couple of wickets. And I am glad that happened.If you had bowled quick on that surface, it would have been good [for] batters. But if you kept varying your pace, there was some help. In the second innings, it slightly got better to bat compared to the first innings.When I joined RCB, I told them that I love winning trophies. After three-and-a-half months, glad that I was able to fulfil what I said on day one – I literally manifested.[On his fourth IPL trophy] It’s been pretty good, right? I mean, ten years, four IPL trophies. I told Hardik [Pandya] also on the phone that in the Pandya household, there would be nine trophies in 11 years.Phil Salt: It’s an unbelievable feeling right now. Honestly, I don’t quite know where I am at the minute. I’ve not had the most sleep, but so proud of the boys. Everywhere we go, we are the best-supported team. It’s ridiculous, the fanbase. And we’ve got AB [de Villiers] here, we’ve got Chris [Gayle] here. Everyone has come back. If you play for them, you love the franchise. If you support them, you love them, and we’re so grateful for that. Thanks for supporting us, thanks for coming out in numbers. Early on in the comp, there were a few games where we were behind the eight ball, and we sort of rode the crowd, so you have won more games than you think this IPL for us.
Jitesh Sharma: I can’t express anything right now. I’m very happy for Virat as he has been waiting for this for 18 years. As a human, I can understand that when a man waits for a trophy for 18 years, how he feels. I’ve said this before that when you play for others, you do something extraordinary. When you play for yourself, you’re conservative. You feel insecure. But when you want to do something for someone else, it’s magical.Josh Hazlewood: I think 190 was a very good score. I think the wicket was a little bit up and down. It may have got better as the night went on, but I think our guys fought it out with the bat really well to post that score. Everyone chipped in and the bowlers held their nerves.[On Kohli winning it after 18 years with RCB] Yeah, it probably means everything. A few of us come and go to other franchises, but to be there from the start and just slug it out for 18 seasons and to get the result tonight, I think we’ll see a bit of emotion.[On returning for the playoffs before the WTC final] You only get better playing in situations like this, gaining that experience. It only adds sort of strings to your bow, so I’m very happy I came back, feel a part of this franchise I’ve been at for a number of years, and yeah, it’s awesome.Dinesh Karthik: It’s a team that waited 18 years, played a lot of good cricket, had to wait its time. It belongs to every fan. Virat Kohli, he has been around for 18 years. Greats like AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, they all tried their hearts out. Support staff like Basu Shanker, [Ramesh] Mane – all these guys have waited 18 years, so I’m very happy for them.
Right from the start, we believed we were a team that was good. We had a lot of bases covered. If we played the way we wanted to, I knew things would work in our favour. Great to see the boys stand up at different points of time. Even today, it was a high-pressure game; they [PBKS] really pushed us – it was not an easy wicket to bat on. But I think we put up a score that was above par. There was a bit in the pitch. But this game, the final, it’s not about the pitch. It’s about the emotion, it’s about how much you have in your tank and the fire to win, and I think we had that a lot today.Andy Flower put us through the rigour, really pushed us to become good support staff. I have become a better batting coach than when I started, obviously it’s my first time… the way he groomed me, helped me… Mo Bobat had a plan and a vision from the start. That’s the culmination of the efforts.Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Of course, we knew it [the pitch] was not easy. So we thought 180 would be a good score to defend and we got 190. So it was ten more than what we thought. The way we executed our plans says a lot about the bowling unit. I think his [Krunal Pandya’s] spell changed the scenario for us, the way he bowled in the middle overs. But yes, the change of pace wasn’t easy, but we talked about it, that we’re not going to overuse it. We’ll use our other options and then use a slower option.Mayank Agarwal [On coming in as a replacement]: Life is very, very unpredictable. If we can stay put, keep grinding, it can turn and it can turn 360 [180 degrees].