IPL 2019 | I just wanted to deliver for Royal Challengers Bangalore, says Gurkeerat Singh Mann

IPL 2019 | I just wanted to deliver for Royal Challengers Bangalore, says Gurkeerat Singh Mann

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Gurkeerat Singh Mann revealed that after being handed a rare opportunity to bat, he just wanted to repay the faith invested in him by his teammates. Gurkeerat scored a fighting 65 off 48 deliveries to help his Royal Challengers Bangalore end the 2019 IPL season on a winning note.

If truth be told, it’s been a season to forget for Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore who endured a difficult start to the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League. The Bangalore-based franchise were touted as favorites to make the top four before the start of the tournament but failed to win a single game in their first seven matches. However, they hit form late in the tournament and ended up with five wins from 14 games, with the last win coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Windies’ batsman Shimron Hetmeyer 75 (47) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann 65 (48) starred for the home team after being a precarious situation due to a batting collapse, including that of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However, Mann revealed that he was determined to prove his worth and repay the faith invested in him by the management staff.

"I think it is not pressure, it is about the opportunity. This year I played in the IPL after almost two years and I just wanted to deliver for my team and I did it.

"Whenever you go into bat, you have to prove yourself and do well for the team. Fortunately for me, I had many overs left, so I could build my innings. Usually what happens to the middle over batsmen is you don't get balls and you just have to hit out in the last three or four overs," Mann told reporters at the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, SRH’s Martin Guptill admitted that the fourth-wicket partnership between Hetmeyer and Mann took the game away from the visitors. On Afghani spinner Rashid Khan, who picked up 15 wickets from 14 matches this season, Guptill added that "It is cricket, these things happens from time to time. However, he has bowled well for us, though he did not get as many wickets as he wanted to."

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