Virat Kohli and Harpreet Brar
Punjab Kings left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar had an exceptional outing during his maiden game in the recently-postponed Indian Premier League (IPL) edition. Brar, who had previously played only three IPL matches, ran through Royal Challengers Bangalore's vaunted batting unit and also picked up the Man of the Match trophy.
The 25-year-old from Moga scored 25* off 17 deliveries and then finished with figures of 3/19. To make it even more special, he dismissed Virat Kohli and then plucked Glenn Maxwell (0) and AB de Villiers (3) to complete a three-fer that any bowler in world cricket would've craved for.
"My first IPL wicket was Kohli Paaji's wicket and that was very special. It came out in a flow after that, your body opens up, you get confident and things fall in place," Brar had said in the post-match presentation.
In an exclusive interaction with India TV, Brar reminisced his match-winning spell and remembered how head coach Anil Kumble told about his inclusion in the Playing XI.
"I remember Anil Kumble sir telling me to be prepared for the game. Any bowler dreams of getting wickets of good batsmen. In the modern era, picking Virat Kohli's wicket is always special. In our game against RCB, I was just focussing on bowling good deliveries without getting nervous," he said.
"I was walking towards the presentation area along with Ravi Bishnoi when I crossed Kohli. He told me 'very well bowled' and keep bowling the way you're bowling."
The newly-christened Punjab outfit, headed by KL Rahul, was sixth on the points table when the IPL 2021 was shelved indefinitely amid growing COVID cases in its bio-bubble. Brar also shared his experience of playing under Rahul's captaincy.
"Rahul had also entered the IPL at a young age. He had shared his experiences with us, telling us to wait for chances and give 100 percent when the opportunity arrives. His advice helped me to be positive when I wasn't getting many chances," said Brar.
"IPL is such a huge platform for every player irrespective of his age and experience. It opens the door to international cricket. If you perform in the IPL, you get accustomed to the pressure of international T20 game," he further said on getting a breakthrough.
