Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan admitted they had a good total on the board but gave credit to the Kolkata Knight Riders after suffering a five-wicket loss at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday. PBKS posted a par score of 179 runs on the board after Dhawan decided to bat first after winning the toss.
However, KKR was able to get over the line with their skipper Nitish Rana scoring a crucial knock of 51 runs and Andre Russell adding the finishing touches with a blitzkrieg 23-ball 42.
Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan led from the front as he scored a decent knock of 57 runs from 47 balls at the top of the order for his team. Dhawan admitted that it wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on but he was happy with their final score.
In fact, Dhawan was the lone warrior as the rest of the PBKS batters could not contribute to the score. The visiting team middle order batters had got off to promising starts but none of them could go on to make a substantial score. However, Shahrukh Khan (21 off 8) and Harpreet Brar (17 off 9) added the finishing touches to the score.
On the other hand, KKR needed 26 runs off the final two overs and Andre Russell took 20 runs off the penultimate over, which was bowled by Sam Curran. Six runs were needed in the final over but Arshdeep Singh did a terrific job to take the game to the last ball.
However, KKR’s wonder boy Rinku Singh smashed a four on the last ball of the innings when two runs were needed, to take his team to a thrilling win.
Shikhar Dhawan said in the post-match presentation, “Feels bad, of course not feeling great, we lost the match. Not an easy track to bat on, felt that we had a good total. In the end, they played well. It was a great effort from Arshdeep, the way he has bounced back from the last game.”
He added, “All credit to him that he took the game to the last ball. I feel we don’t have a good off-spinner, that is where we are leaking a bit of runs when left-handers come in. This wicket was offering turn as well, that is where we took the hit.”
Punjab Kings will next face Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.
