Every game is like semifinal for us now: RCB coach Andy Flower
Bengaluru, Apr 16: After his side's sixth defeat in seven matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower confessed that each of their remaining seven matches will have to be treated like a semifinal.
In the latest setback to their playoff aspirations, RCB went down by 25 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Monday.
“It is obviously knockout time and every game is like a semifinal for us now. But we will have to think that we will come back stronger,” Flower said on RCB Game Day.
RCB conceded the highest-ever IPL total – 287 for three – as the Hyderabad batters went on a merry ride against their directionless bowlers.
Flower admitted that it was a tough night for his side.
“It was a really tough night in the field, of course, as they finished so powerfully that it probably took the wind out of our souls,” he said.
However, Flower found shards of positives during RCB’s chase such as Dinesh Karthik’s superlative 83 off 35 balls and skipper Faf Du Plessis’ 28-ball 62.
The Zimbabwean wanted to build on them in the coming matches.
“I am really proud of the way we fought with the bat out there in the middle. We lost the game but I was really proud of the way we fought,” said Flower.
The former England coach lauded Karthik for the way he took on SRH bowlers, and said it would not be surprising if the wicketkeeper batter made it to India’s T20 World Cup squad.
“Dinesh Karthik is really making a push for the World Cup team (of India) as well and is only getting better on the field,” he added.
RCB will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on April 21.
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Gujarat's Urvil Patel slams century in 28 balls, fastest T20 hundred by an Indian
Indore(PTI): Gujarat's wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel slammed the fastest T20 century by an Indian during his team's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Tripura here on Wednesday, reaching the three-figure mark in just 28 balls.
This comes exactly a year after he smashed the second-fastest hundred by an Indian in List-A cricket.
The 26-year-old Urvil bettered Rishabh Pant's record for the fastest T20 hundred by an Indian. The India wicket-keeper had blazed away to a 32-ball century against Himachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2018.
Urvil's ton is the second-fastest in T20 cricket, only behind Estonia's Sahil Chauhan, whose hundred against Cyprus came in 27 balls.
Opening the innings, Urvil struck seven fours and 12 sixes on his way to an unbeaten 113 off a mere 35 balls, as Gujarat completed a chase of 156 in 10.2 overs.
Earlier in the week, Urvil had gone unsold in the Indian Premier League player auction.
Exactly on this day last year, after being released by Gujarat Titans, Urvil scored an unbeaten 41-ball 100 for Gujarat in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh in Chandigarh.
Urvil's century was the second-fastest by an Indian batter in List A cricket.
