Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan feels it was a collective team effort after they defeated Rajasthan Royals by five runs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday. PBKS posted a par score of 197 runs on the board after fine fifties from Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan and a little cameo from Jitesh Sharma.
The visitors got off to a brisk start, racing to 63-0 at the end of the PowerPlay overs, with Prabhsimran Singh doing the bulk of the damage. The 22-year-old youngster from Punjab completed his fifty off just 28 balls and took the attack against KM Asif and Trent Boult in the first six.
Singh scored a blistering knock of 60 runs whereas Dhawan, who got off to a sedate start with a run-a-ball 30, was able to finish strongly on 86 from 56 balls.
On the other hand, Nathan Ellis picked up 4-30 in his quota of four overs as the Australian made great use of cross-seam deliveries and bowled within the stumps to get his wickets. Moreover, Sam Curran was able to defend 16 runs in the final over against Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer, who both were going strong in the run-chase.
Shikhar Dhawan was delighted with his team’s collective show and said in the post-match presentation, “There were some nervous moments, I was trying to keep my calm and discussing plans with my bowlers. Was happy with the score we put up. We scoring 197 and my bowlers giving those early wickets and then Nathan came in and bowled superbly. It was a full team effort. These 2 games we got a great start, Prabh did really well and I tried my best to increase my strike rate. We want to keep the momentum going as we got a good batting line-up. We respect the opponents’ bowlers but want to keep the intent and aggression going.”
It was a fine effort from PBKS as they made it two in two and the Shikhar Dhawan-led team will want to carry the same momentum. Punjab has a solid batting unit and they have adopted an aggressive approach with the bat.
Punjab Kings will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday.
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