Punjab Kings registered a thrilling win over Lucknow Super Giants by 2 wickets in the 21st Match of the IPL 2023 at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 15. Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bowl. Put into bat, KL Rahul scored 74 off 56. With a few contributions from others, they posted 159 runs in 20 overs.
While chasing, Punjab Kings openers got out very cheaply. However, Sikandar Raza scored 57 and a few contributions from others helped them win with three balls in hand as well.
READ MORE: ‘Could have gone deeper’ – Shubman Gill on his knock
Here is what the captains and the player of the match said after the game:
Sikandar Raza, Player of the Match said as quoted by Cricbuzz: Feels great to be honest. When I got out, there were a few demons in my head. Credit to Shahrukh. Nice to get a fifty but if we had lost, I wouldn’t have felt so good. It’s one of the biggest stage. You’re here and you want to do well. I’ve had two average games which was there in my head. Jitesh’s wicket was very crucial. Had he stayed on for 6-8 balls, he would’ve finished the game himself. But the way Shahrukh came out hitting his first ball for six, I was confident in him.
Sam Curran, PBKS captain said as quoted by Cricbuzz: Amazing win. I thought our spinners bowled nicely. KG does what he does. Bit of dew came in but the wicket was offering a little for the bowlers. The way Sikandar Raza played was brilliant. And the way Shahrukh finished it, that’s what he’s in our team to do. His role has been clear in our side. Players who can hit sixes from ball one are dangerous. You go from ground to ground – different dimensions – have to come up with different gameplans. We’ve got so many options which is lovely to have as a captain. I’ve never done it before. Hopefully Shikhar is fit soon.
Shahrukh Khan said as quoted by Cricbuzz: Really feeling good, after the first innings,. it was important to play a par game (in the chase). Raza played superbly and set it up for me. My mindset was just to stay with the ball, the practice is working out to me. I’m powerful, cheeky shots don’t work for me, so I try to hit straight and it’s good to use my muscles. I just told Brar to go for the big hit since it was the last (5th) ball of the over, unfortunately he got out, but I was confident I could finish in the last over.
ALSO READ: Viacom18 bags WIPL Media Rights for 5 years
KL Rahul, LSG captain said as quoted by Cricbuzz: We were about 10 short, the dew came in and helped the batters a bit more. We didnt do too well with the ball. (On what is a par score here) When your’e playing on a new pitch, you cant rely on previous games so we are taking it as it comes. Assessing it as it comes to think what would be a par total. If a few guys get going, we can get that 180-190 mark like Mayers and Pooran played well in that DC game, but unfortunately today a few batters got caught on the boundary lines. If they went over, the score could have been different. Part of the game, we learn from it. (On his diving catch) Game on the line, you have to give it everything on the field. I saw the ball and went for it. (On finding balance between aggression and anchoring) Each player has a different role, we are 7-8 batters in our team and few are powerful enough to clear every boundary, the others have different skills. We each play our role and thats what makes the team exciting. We have power in Pooran and Stoin, and Mayers up top takes the aggressive route. For each player taking that aggressive route can look different, you have to stick to what works best for you.
