The highly anticipated reverse encounter between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday ended in a no result. But the batting performance of openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran left plenty of positives for the Punjab camp to reflect on after the game ended.
After winning the toss, Arya and Prabhsimran stitched a 120-run stand for the first wicket, setting up their side for a big total. While the left-handed batter scored 69 off 35 balls with eight fours and four sixes, Prabhsimran scored 83 off 49 balls with six fours and six sixes in his innings. The duo helped their side post a solid total of 201/4 in 20 overs on a slow, turning track.
After the match, both Punjab openers credited veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for key advice during the match, which helped them against KKR.
“Yuzi bhaiya came to me before the start of the match and explained to me how the wicket will be behaving on the day. It helped me because I am not the best in reading the tracks,” Priyansh said as quoted by the Punjab Kings press release.
Prabhsimran further added: “Before the match, Yuzi paaji told me that I am contributing well with 30-35 runs at the top. He told me that the ball will spin on the track, and hence I should take my time in adjusting to the conditions. So, I took my time initially and it helped me later on to play my shots. All thanks to Yuzi paaji.”
Meanwhile, addressing the dressing room, head coach Ricky Ponting also praised the openers for their spectacular batting and highlighted the importance of earning one point despite the match ending without a result.
“We knew the wicket might not be as good as some others that we have batted on. We talked about being a little bit more circumspect in the power play, making sure we had set-batters going through into the next phase against their spinners. The things that we spoke about today were executed perfectly by the openers,” Ponting said.
“Prabh, you gave yourself an extra few balls, and you ended up scoring 83 off 49, which set the game up perfectly for us, so, well done. We take one point out of the game, but I think as a group we can take a whole lot more of that,” he further added.
Now, Punjab will next travel to Chepauk Stadium in Chennai to face off against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.
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