It was yet another thrilling fixture between the Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals at the Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali. It was a low-scoring affair where both bowlers managed to deliver for their respective sides but PBKS came out with the loss as Shimron Hetmeyer smashed 10 runs in the final over to give their fourth defeat of the season.
Speaking of the conditions in Mohali, the stand-in skipper, Sam Curran who took up the role in place of the injured Shikhar Dhawan suggested that the track was a bit slow. But he was critical of his side’s poor show with the bat. They were unable to put together a good start and relied on quick cameos followed by a strong finish by their impact sub, Ashutosh Sharma who scored 31 in 16 deliveries.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Curran said,” The wicket was slow, but we didn’t start well with the bat and didn’t finish well in the end. It was a good effort from the lower order, getting (close) to 150 was excellent, the bowling was good, kept them down, and unfortunately another close loss”.
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However, the Englishman was appreciative of the side’s performance in the second innings. Despite a steady start by the makeshift opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tanush Kotian, the latter came in place of the injured Jos Buttler. PBKS came back strong with wickets at regular intervals through the middle stages of the second innings which was enough to put the hosts back in the game.
“We stuck to our plans, bowled and fielded well, but I’m confident we’ll bounce back in the next game,” he added.
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PBKS have had to adjust themselves to their new home, the Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali for the 2024 season and Curran admitted that he is still understanding the conditions and needs more time to be fully accustomed to the tracks. But the all-rounder suggested that the fight shown by the home side will be a big positive which they carry forward.
The left-handed all-rounder concluded by saying,” Three games is a hard way to fully work out the conditions (at the new venue), but we’ve adapted well, we won the first match and lost two matches by close margins, it is hard to take, but the boys will be lifted by how well we’ve played in the last couple of games”.
READ MORE: PBKS vs RR: Shimron Hetmyer’s Last-over Heroics Hand Rajasthan Royals a 5-wicket Win in Chandigarh
PBKS will have their next two games at home against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans respectively. With a better understanding of the conditions, the Punjab-based franchise will look to make a swift comeback in their upcoming games.
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