New Chandigarh, April 12 (IANS) Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has lauded his squad’s ‘never-say-die’ attitude, adding that the side successfully converted what appeared to be a disastrous outing into a significant victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Despite a harrowing start where the bowlers conceded over 100 runs in the first eight overs, PBKS staged a massive recovery to restrict SRH to 219/6 before completing the chase in an emphatic fashion with six wickets to spare.
“What we talk about around this team all the time is how hard we are going to be to beat. When we’re behind, we’re going to find a way to fight and fight and fight until we get ourselves back into the game. We turned what looked like being an ugly day into a really positive one,” Ponting said during the ‘Dressing Room Diaries’ episode by the franchise.
He also lauded the tactical gamble by captain Shreyas Iyer to introduce part-timer Shashank Singh as the catalyst for PBKS comeback. “A really brave decision from the skipper to bring Shashank into the attack, take the pace off the ball, and try and take some air out of it. (To the bowlers) I can hardly find a fault in anything we did for the rest of the game. That is some serious fightback,” observed Ponting.
The foundation of PBKS acing the chase was laid by a 93-run power-play, with Ponting praising the opening pair of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh for their fearless approach against the new ball.
“Seeing Prabh and Priyansh go out and take the game on the way that they do feels so great. They do it with so much class. Looking at the matchups, Priyansh taking the first ball – against a left-arm spinner – is exactly the match-up he wants.
“On the other hand, Prabh taking on Unadkat with the new ball in the second over… we got 93 at the end of the powerplay. It was an unbelievable opening partnership,” he said. PBKS will next face five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 16.
–IANS
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