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

Shishir Hattangadi

The Indian Premier League (IPL) crucible is boiling. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians were stopped from winning a game through the brilliance of Royal Challengers Bangalore's AB de Villiers and a brave spell by the understated Harshal Patel.

Five 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 wicket-taking.

Lynn rises to the occasion

MI 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 above-par target. Their lower-order barring Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 23 balls) and baby-faced Ishan Kishan's 28 off 19, was unable to capitalise and give MI the above-par score that they targeted.

From 145-5 when they lost Kishan in the 18th over to 159-9 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 year's IPL in the UAE did not lead to rustiness and that showed on Friday when he displayed a skill set that only he possesses.

Creating 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 one's 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 he's there till the end, he'll finish it.

With Maxwell finding his touch of devastation, it may be good for Virat Kohli to play around these two game-changers up the order. The flip side is the loss of early wickets and the domestic batsmen will have to contribute more than what was displayed.

MI aren't great starters

To sum up Friday's 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 isn't something they haven't 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 overs.

In 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 season!

Former Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi is currently CEO of Baroda Cricket Association