NEWS
Follow UsPunjab Kings (PBKS) had a day to forget as their bowlers conceded 257 for 5 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday (April 28) - the second-highest score in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Every bowler other than Rahul Chahar conceded over 12 an over and among the LSG batters Kyle Mayers (45), Ayush Badoni (43), Marcus Stoinis (72) and Nicholas Pooran (45) had a field day. PBKS eventually went down by 56 runs, allowing LSG to go second in the IPL 2023 table.
Looking back at the loss, PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan said his game plan of playing an extra bowler backfired. PBKS roped in faced bowler Gurnoor Brar, who conceded just two runs in his first over. However, in the next two overs, he conceded 40 runs and was substituted within the first 10 overs of the innings to make way for Prabhsimran Singh.
"We gave away too many runs. I felt that it [ball] didn't come on quickly to the bat and it went straight to the fielder [on his dismissal]. I felt my strategy to play with the extra bowler backfired. We missed a spinner today. It's a learning for me. Livi [Liam Livingstone] and even Sam [Curran] were there, so we couldn't send him [Shahrukh Khan] ahead," Dhawan said at the post-match presentation.
After their loss to Gujarat Titans (GT), LSG had a six-day gap before taking on PBKS. Lucknow skipper KL Rahul said that the break helped his side get fresh for the challenge ahead.
"Happy that we got the win. Every game from now on would be very important. We had a break after the last game. We came back fresher after that. We were clear as to how to bat. When you see such wickets, you get excited as batters. Getting 250 speaks highly of how we batted," Rahul said.
"You are familiar with what you can expect. Just being familiar with wickets helps. We always talk about setting the tone at the start. We had guys like Mayers, Stoinis. Badoni has been batting well. Hooda as well. The think tank does most of the thinking and I try to understand what they are thinking. And if it suits us, we go through with the plan."
Player of the match Marcus Stoinis had to walk off the field after copping one on his finger while bowling. He revealed that he will have to get scans done before taking a call on his availability for the next game.
"The finger is alright. It is better now. We will get scans done," Stoinis said.
"We were joking about the difference between this wicket and the one at our home. Was just trying to build partnerships. Ayush got off to a flier as well. I do like to take responsibility of batting in the middle order and finishing it off.
"I have batted everywhere in my career. I was swinging a few in the nets. So, they got excited and gave me the new ball. No one loves to bowl on a flat one. The home wicket suits me more as my change of pace helps me there."
PBKS will be in action on Sunday (April 30) against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk, while LSG take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Lucknow on Monday (May 1).
