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Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], April 11 (ANI): Following his side's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer hailed how Shashank Singh stepped in to break a raging century stand between Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, which slowly turned the tides in PBKS' favour. He also lauded his own openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, saying that they do not need to curb their instincts.
Iyer, Prabhsimran, and Priyansh delivered explosive half-centuries, chasing down 220 runs in just 18.5 overs to hand SRH their third loss in four matches. While Travis-Abhishek got SRH off to a fiery start with a 120-run stand in eight overs, after their dismissal in a quick span by Shashank, SRH could score just 99 runs during the remainder of the innings.
Speaking during the post-match, Iyer said about the partnership between 'Travi-Shek' and how Shashank offered to do the job as a part-timer bowler, "All of us came together, and Shashank approached me, give me an over. Ricky (Ponting) came and asked me, what is your thought? I said I will go with Shashank - I need someone to take the pace off. He lived up to his expectations; he lived up to what he said, kudos to him... At the end of the day, we all know we have got the skills."
On his side's massive and successful run-chase, Iyer said that the team has been strong in their mindset in such chases.
"Openers have been flowing throughout, they do not need to curb their instincts. Others, who set their platforms from ball one, it is easy for us to rotate strike and go according to run rate. Overall, we have been magnificent with our work ethic," he added.
On a concluding note, he said that the eyes are on the trophy, "I am very ecstatic. You need to be in the present. Ricky also takes a lot of importance in this. Last year, we came so close. This is the year we are eyeing the trophy. It's going to take a lot of effort."
Put to bat first by PBKS, SRH scored 219/4, largely powered by a hard-hitting 120-run stand between Abhishek Sharma (74 in 28 balls, with five fours and eight sixes) and Travis Head (38 in 23 balls, with five fours and a six). During the chase, scintillating knocks from Priyansh Arya (57 in 20 balls, with five fours and five sixes), Prabhsimran Singh (51 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes), and skipper Iyer (69* in 33 balls, with five fours and five sixes) powered PBKS to the target in 18.5 overs with six wickets in hand. (ANI)