Punjab Kings batter Shashank Singh gave his gratitude to the coaching staff for backing him after helping his team beat the Gujarat Titans by three wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Thursday. Singh scored an unbeaten knock of 61 runs off just 29 balls in the run-chase of 200, which is the highest of the ongoing season.
Singh, who mostly bats at number seven for PBKS, was promoted to number six when the team had their backs against the wall at 70-4. The 32-year-old was able to get off the blocks in a jiffy and completed his maiden IPL fifty off just 25 balls.
The right-hander scored six fours and four sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game. Singh was awarded Player of the Match for his fine knock.
He said in the post-match presentation, “Still trying to sink in, I vision these things but turning it into reality feels great. I play cricketing shots, I bat at No. 7 but today I batted at No. 5. The bounce was very good, 200 scored by both teams so the wicket was fantastic. They are the legends of cricket, I don’t see the names, I react to the ball and play my shots accordingly. Couldn’t get much matches before, last to last year for SRH but the management, the coaching staff here has really backed me and I was very confident.”
On the other hand, Ashutosh Sharma scored a crucial knock of 31 runs off just 17 balls and the debutant, who came on as an impact substitute, played a key role in the run-chase. Sharma also gave credit to the team’s think tank for backing him.
Sharma said after the game, “I would like to thank the PBKS team for believing in me so much. Feels so good to perform and more importantly the team won, so I am happy about it. Shikhar paaji believed in me so much. I was normal and kept believing that I can do it. To Sanjay sir I will thank him so much and he believed in me. He told me a lot of good things. I was normal and believed that I can do it because I have won games for my home team. Back home I was training with Amay Khurasiya sir. He told me when you get a chance you will become a hero.”
Punjab Kings will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Tuesday.
