Former India player turned cricket expert Gautam Gambhir was quite impressed with the speedster Harshal Patel and his performance on his debut for Team India in the second T20I against New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday. He picked up the wickets of Glenn Phillips (34) and Daryl Mitchell (31) to finish with 2 for 25 from his 4 overs as well.
Notably, Harshal Patel earned his maiden call-up after having a stupendous IPL 2021 season where he had finished as the leading wicket-taker with 32 wickets in 15 matches while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as well.
Speaking at the end of the match, Gautam Gambhir showered high praise on Harshal Patel, saying it speaks volumes of his calibre that he carried his IPL success at the international stage. Speaking on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir said:
“Harshal Patel was unbelievable. It never looked like he was playing his first game. Very impressed with his effort. That is what 8-10 years of first-class cricket and a fabulous IPL season can do to you. You play your first game for India, you know your game much better.
“You are no more a rookie and if you have done that in IPL, which is high-quality cricket, when you have had that kind of success, you come here and feel you can continue doing the same thing. That is what Harshal has done tonight. Really happy for him because he has delivered on the big stage today,” he added.
“It’s a great feeling playing for the country” – Harshal Patel
Meanwhile, Team India has won the second T20I match and with this, they won the three-match T20I series in one match in hand. The third match will be played on Sunday. Despite being successful in the first game, Harshal Patel is not taking anything for granted.
“It’s a great feeling playing for the country. I love the game and the ultimate goal for any player is to play for the country, it’s an honour, it’s a privilege and I’m not going to take it for granted. Rahul (Dravid) sir has always told me that once you are done with the preparations, you gotta go out there and enjoy the game. I’ve reached here on the back of a good IPL, so it’s a satisfying moment for me,” Harshal Patel said on Star Sports.
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