Punjab Kings match-winner Shashank Singh said that his mentality of always going in to bat thinking he is the best helped him conquer the imposing 200-run target set by Gujarat Titans in an IPL game here on Thursday.
Shashank slammed an unbeaten 29-ball 61 as PBKS won the match by three wickets on the penultimate ball of the thrilling match.
“They (senior players) are the legends of the game, but when I go to bat I think I am the best. You get experience, couldn’t get a lot of matches before. Here the owners and coaching staff backed me. I was very confident,” said the 32-year-old all-rounder, who outshone GT skipper Shubman Gill on the day with his pyrotechnics and winning mentality.
The Player-of-the-Match added that the victory is yet to sink in.
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“(Win) still trying to sink in. Visualised all these things, but when it turned into reality, proud of the effort. Coach told me to react to the ball. The wicket is very good, the bounce was good. 200 scored by both teams, so the wicket was fantastic,” he added.
PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan credited the pair of Shashank and Ashutosh Sharma (31 off 17 balls) for the morale-boosting victory.
“It was an amazing game. Very, very close. Boys did the job. Plan was to give a good start, but I got out early. We lost a few wickets early and Shashank came and played a tremendous knock,” Dhawan said.
“When you are chasing a big total, you have to keep the momentum going. Shashank showed his class. Magnificent knock. He timed the ball so nicely, it looked effortless.
“He kept his cool and finished the game. He started from No. 7 and is now showing his positive mindset. Ashutosh also came in and took the game well. The two young boys were keeping their calm and soaking the pressure,” added the skipper, who was dismissed for just one run in the chase.
Sharma said he had the belief that he could play a pivotal role in the team’s victory and thanked Dhawan and the team management for showing faith in him.
“I would like to thank Punjab Kings for believing in me. Happy that our team has won. Personal performance happens, but main thing is for the team to win.
“Shikhar (Dhawan) has told me a lot of things mentally. I was like ‘I will do it’. I have won games for my team, so I had the belief. Back home, I had worked with Amay Khurasiya, my coach. He said you will do well when you get the chance,” said Sharma.
GT skipper Gill said a few dropped catches cost the team heavily.
“Couple of catches went down. Never easy on a wicket like this when you drop catches. Difficult to defend runs in these conditions. The new ball was doing something. There are always areas to improve. I think 200 was good enough,” he said.
“When you drop catches, you will be in trouble,” added Gill.
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