Head Coach Trevor Bayliss: Punjab Kings won against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, chasing down a mammoth total of 262 with 8 wickets in hand. It was the highest successful run chase in T20 history that earned the Kings their third win of the season and the crucial two pointsOpener Prabhsimran Singh, who came on as the impact substitute, hammered 54 runs off 20 balls to give his side a blistering start in the run chase. Speaking after the match, Prabhsimran said there was always belief in the team to get the win.
“No matter how big the score is, the team chasing always thinks that they want to chase down the total. We planned to just cash in the powerplay and we did that. We are happy to complete the chase and win those crucial two points,” said Prabhsimran Singh after the match.
The right-handed batter also went on to reveal the masterful advice from Head Coach Trevor Bayliss in the dressing room that helped his side during the run chase.
“There was a belief in everyone that if we conceded so many runs, then we could easily chase it. Coach Bayliss told us that we do not have to take the pressure of chasing the total, and asked us to bat like our normal selves. We needed to dominate and we were able to do that and get the win.”
Opener Jonny Bairstow, who came back into the playing squad, brought the goods on the night, smashing an unbeaten 108 off 48 balls. With 8 fours and 9 sixes, and a strike rate of 225, Bairstow’s blitzkrieg helped the Kings achieve a target that at one point seemed impossible.
“Jonny Bairstow is one of the biggest players in the world. He also plays Test cricket and has been delivering for his country for so many years across formats. Everyone knows what he is capable of. In cricket, you can come out of form with just one match. He scored a hundred today and played a crucial knock,” Prabhsimran said.
The 23-year-old also added that there was no dew factor on the surface during the second innings, but the team was helped in the chase by a clarity of thought on what they needed to do. “It was a batting surface. Our minds were clear and we knew what we had to do. There was no dew factor on the surface. But the clarity of minds helped us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the in-form middle-order batter Shashank Singh, was promoted up to bat at no. 4 on Friday, and he justified the decision with an unbeaten knock of 68 in 28 balls. With two fours and 8 sixes and a strike rate of 242.86, Shashank brought the firepower and stayed till the end to help his side complete the chase with 8 balls to spare.
Speaking on the result, Shashank said, “When I was in the dug-out, I was just watching the behaviour of the pitch, and I felt it was coming on nicely with good bounce. I just backed myself to hit the other bowlers, while I was happy to take the singles and doubles off Sunil Narine. We planned to play him out,” the right-handed batter said.
“We still have 5 matches to go, we’ll take it one match at a time and I believe that we can still qualify for the playoffs,” Shashank signed off.
Punjab Kings will next face off against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.
