Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan believes that their side fell 15 to 20 runs short and Virat Kohli’s dropped catch contributed to their four-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday. After being put to bat, PBKS lost Jonny Bairstow and the dismissal hindered their capability to put runs on the board. Runs came slowly from Dhawan’s bat while Prabhsimran took time to settle on the pitch, which resulted in PBKS amassing just 40/1.
After the game, Dhawan opened up about their struggle in the powerplay and said, “It was a good game, we brought the game back and again we lost it. We scored 10-15 runs less, in the first six overs I played a bit slow. Those 10-15 runs cost us and the dropped catch as well. I am happy with my runs but I thought I could have played a bit more fast in the first six overs, that’s the only thing I felt. We lost wickets as well, we lost two wickets continuously and that put pressure on us.”
In the second innings, on the second ball of the first over, Jonny Bairstow dropped Virat Kohli’s catch and the stalwart batter went on to score 77 runs in just 49 deliveries, which was laced with eleven fours and two maximums.
“Virat scored 70-odd runs and we dropped a catch of the class player, we paid the price. If we had taken that catch, the momentum would have come from the second ball. But we lost the momentum over there and then we paid the price for that,” he added.
While the established pace duo of Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh leaked a total of 85 runs and lead spinner Rahul Chahar gave away 16 runs in a single over, Harpreet Brar emerged as a game-changer for PBKS.
During his spell, he kept the run rate in check, gave away just 13 runs and claimed two crucial wickets.
“He’s bowling really well, especially bowling against left-handers, tremendous the way he soaked in the pressure and got us the breakthroughs. It’s a very big thing in Punjab, the Kabaddi thing, the people really connect with that thigh-five, happy to see him do it,” Dhawan said while praising Harpreet.
Coming to the match, while chasing 177, Virat Kohli provided the ideal start and Dinesh Karthik with impact sub Mahipal Lomror provided the finishing touches to seal a four-wicket win for RCB.
