The Royal Challengers Bangalore bowed out of the IPL 2021 after suffering a defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator in Sharjah on Monday.
With the conclusion of this edition of the IPL for RCB, skipper Virat Kohli also played his last game as the skipper of the franchise. Kohli had earlier announced that he would step down from the post after this season.
Kohli might not be the captain of the side anymore but fast bowler Harshal Patel has insisted that he would still remain the “leader”.
“In terms of his captaincy, there are captains and there are leaders, he is definitely a leader. Just because he won’t have the captaincy tag, it doesn’t make him any less of a leader,” Harshal said at the post-match press conference.
“So, I just want to thank him for whatever he has contributed for this team and to my growth,” he added.
The right-arm bowler expressed disappointment on the loss and added that the way the side had fared in the tournament, they expected to end at least in the top two.
“Obviously, we are all disappointed in the way we finished the tournament. The way we were playing, I think we should have been in (the) top two. But as we all know, it is a game of small margins,” Harshal said.
After restricting RCB to 138/7 in 20 overs, courtesy some fine piece of bowling from the spinners and especially Sunil Narine who picked up four wickets, KKR went on to chase the target in the final over by 4 wickets and two balls to spare.
The Knight Riders will now lock horns with Delhi Capitals in the second qualifier on Wednesday in Sharjah.