'If we make it to the playoffs, I think I will be ready' - Harshal Patel gives updates on his injury

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s quality pacer Harshal Patel provided updates about his injury, which he suffered during the clash against the Gujarat Titans, and said it won’t take much longer to heal and he will be back into action if the team qualifies for the playoffs. Though RCB won the game against GT, there were no updates about Patel, who had injured himself while fielding in the first innings.

Patel split the webbing of his right hand during the game, and it began to bleed excessively. The game was paused for a while as he was taken to the dressing room to have the webbing patched following a brief examination by the RCB physio. He did not return to the field after walking back and was not seen till the end of the match.

“When I caught that ball on short extra cover, I split my webbing on the right hand. I got a couple of stitches which should come off in three to four days. If we do make it to the playoffs, I think I will be ready to be a part of it,” Patel told the RCB website.

RCB won their final league fixture but will rely on MI’s victory to qualify

The RCB bowlers performed well even in Patel’s absence as they restricted GT to a par score of 168/5. Before Glenn Maxwell struck an unbeaten 40 off only 18 balls, Virat Kohli provided Bangalore with the ideal foundation to chase down 169. The former skipper had only scored 236 runs in 13 games (before the GT game), but his free-flowing style finally paid off against a tough Titans unit.

Kohli and Faf du Plessis shared a 115-run partnership before the skipper was dismissed by Rashid Khan. But Kohli kept the game going and knocked a powerful 54-ball 73. Not much was to be covered after his dismissal, and Maxwell provided the finishing touch as RCB won their final fixture of the league stage to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Bangalore is still in the chase for the precious IPL trophy, but their fate is in the hands of the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians. With Delhi Capitals being the only other team in contention alongside RCB for the playoffs berth, RCB would want MI to defeat DC in order to qualify for the playoffs by retaining the fourth place. Though Delhi would tie with RCB with 16 points if they win the game against MI, their higher NRR would lead them into the playoffs.