“Wanted the field to be attacking, right in front of their face…”: PBKS skipper Iyer after win over KKR

Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], April 16 (ANI): Following his side’s win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer highlighted his team’s attacking mindset and field settings and how important it is not to feel over-hyped by such victories.

Iyer underwent a reversal of fortunes. Standing as KKR’s captain after PBKS chased down 262 at Kolkata last year, the highest-ever T20 run-chase, the star batter was now standing as a proud captain after his side PBKS defended the lowest total in the history of the IPL at Mullanpur on Tuesday.

Speaking after the match during the post-match presentation, Iyer said, “It is hard to express in words. I was just backing my instincts. I saw the ball turn a bit, asked Yuzi to control his breathing a bit. We needed to be attacking and the right players were in the right places. It is tough to talk right now, and such wins make it special."

Iyer also said that the bounce on the wicket was not “consistent".

“I personally felt, when I went out to bat, I faced two balls – one stayed low and one hit the bottom of the bat, people were finding it difficult to sweep. There was a variable bounce in the wicket, we got a decent total to be honest, looking at the win of 16 runs. The bounce was not consistent. We had this at the back of our mind and we asked the bowlers to keep this in mind. And they executed it."

“Two wickets in two overs that gave us that kind of momentum, and the two batters came in and took the momentum towards them. When we saw Yuzi come in and turn the ball, our hopes and expectations were higher and I wanted the field to be attacking and right in front of their face so that they make mistakes, and the tide turned towards us. It is important we stay humble and not get over-hyped with this win. It is important we take all the positives from this game and try to execute from ball one in the next game," he concluded.

Coming to the match, PBKS won the toss and opted to bat first. Priyansh Arya (22 in 12 balls, with three fours and a six) and Prabhsimran Singh (30 in 15 balls, with two fours and three sixes) delivered a fiery start to PBKS with a 39-run stand. However, a powerplay spell by Harshit Rana (3/25) and some fantastic fielding from Ramandeep Singh pushed them to 54/4 at the end of the powerplay. Sunil Narine (2/14) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/21) dominated the later stages of the innings, not letting PBKS batters settle, bundling them out for 111 in 15.3 overs.

During the run-chase, PBKS bowlers put up a brilliant fight, with spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4/28) and Marco Jansen (3/17) delivering spells that turned the match on its head. Despite fighting knocks by Angkrish Raghuvanshi (37 in 28 balls, with five fours and a six) and Andre Russell (17 in 11 balls, with a four and two sixes), KKR was bundled out for 95 in 15.1 overs, losing the match by 16 runs.

PBKS is at the fourth spot, with four wins and two losses, with eight points. KKR is at the sixth spot, with three wins and four losses, giving them six points. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)

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