(Cricket news) Harshal Patel only needs three more wickets to break Dwayne Bravo’s record of most wickets in a season. The Indian pacer currently has 29 wickets in 13 matches this season and has already broken Jasprit Bumrah’s record of 27 wickets which was the most by an Indian bowler in a season.
Bravo had taken 32 wickets from 18 matches in the 2013 season, Harshal still has few matches left and will be looking to become the third bowler after Bravo and Kagiso Rabada to break the 30 wickets barrier in a single edition of the Indian Premier League. Harshal also broke the record of most wickets by an uncapped player in a season which was earlier set by Yuzvendra Chahal who had taken 23 wickets in 2015.
Harshal had taken three wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad and had equalled Bumrah when he clean bowled Kane Williamson and overtook the fast bowler when he took the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha. He has been playing the lead role for Royal Challengers Bangalore and will look to do the same in the playoffs as the team has one last match to play against table toppers Delhi Capitals.
Harshal recorded a five wicket haul in the very first match of the season against Mumbai Indians as the team could not score in the death overs. Harshal started by taking out Hardik Pandya with a slow full toss which went straight into the pads and then produced a fine yorker to Ishan Kishan as it needed a DRS review to confirm the wicket. In the final over, Harshal went into full destroyer mode as he took three wickets for one run to end the innings in tragedy for Mumbai Indians.
Harshal’s next highlight came in the second phase in which he took a hat trick against Mumbai Indians as he took the wickets of Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar triggering a collapse of the five time champion losing five wickets in the space of five runs. Harshal and Chahal took seven wickets in total and gave away twenty eight runs in the match. Harshal had taken wickets of Pollard and Pandya in both the times the teams met this season.
Harshal is the only bowler in the team who has taken more than 15 wickets as Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 15 wickets, the rest of the bowlers have not taken more than 10 wickets. Harshal has led the bowling charts from the first phase as he had taken a staggering 17 wickets in 7 matches and now has taken 12 wickets in 6 matches. Harshal will most likely walk away with the purple cap and can become the first uncapped player to top the bowling charts.
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