It was a disappointing day in the office for the Punjab Kings after they lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets at the DY Patil Stadium. With three wins in six games, PBKS now have 6 points and will look to get back to winning ways in their next game.
Post the match, Kagiso Rabada, who dismissed SRH captain Kane Williamson for just 3 off 9 balls to give PBKS a chance to defend the total early on, addressed the media. Below are some crucial excerpts from the same.
On the batting
PBKS put up 151 in the designated 20 overs despite a blazing 60 off 33 from the in-form all-rounder Liam Livingstone. The South African pacer shared his thoughts on the team’s batting. “I think we’re just batting well in patches. We lost early wickets. Livi (Livingstone) brought us back,” Rabada said.
“If you see, we went from around 60/4 to about 130/4 in the middle if I’m not mistaken. We’ve batted well in that patch. It is never ideal when you lose four wickets in the last over,” he elaborated. “We’re batting well in patches. If we can just glue it together, we’ll be okay.”
On the bowling attack
Some may say that in PBKS’ previous game, played against Mumbai Indians, the bowlers took the game too deep before sealing the win. But against SRH, the team could not defend 151. The pace ace shared his thoughts on the PBKS bowling attack.
“Well, I don’t think there were any issues in the last game (against MI) because we won. I think today, we just didn’t have enough runs. Our batters, we have faith in them. To play a perfect game of cricket, both disciplines need to do well. But I think we didn’t bowl too badly, but we were trying to defend a total that was below par,” Rabada explained.
On Aiden Markram
It was Aiden Markram’s 41* (27) that steered the match in SRH’s way during their chase. The Protea pacer opened up about what he felt during Markram’s stay at the crease. “He was just hitting the ball sweetly,” Rabada remarked, giving his fellow South African full credit for the good play.
“I joked with him after the game saying I gave him a chance there, because I think he should have been run-out. But I guess luck was on his side. At the same time, he is hitting the ball beautifully, making the right decisions and is hitting the ball exactly where he wants. I’m happy for him,” he signed off.
With six games down and eight more to go in the group stage of the Tata Indian Premier League 2022, things are getting pretty heated up. The Shers will surely be back with a few strong performances in the coming weeks.
