Jaipur, May 18 (IANS) Punjab Kings restarted their campaign in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League with a huge win over Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Sunday.

After electing to bat, Punjab lost early wickets with the in-form openers Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, and Aussie batter Mitchell Owen getting out. But Nehal Wadhera (70 runs off 37 balls) stitched crucial partnerships with skipper Shreyas Iyer (30 runs off 25 balls), Shashank Singh (59*runs off 30 balls) to help his side post a solid total of 219/5 in 20 overs. Azmatullah also added 21* off 9 balls in the end to further help his side.

In the chase, Rajasthan started well with Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 runs off 25 balls) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 runs off 15 balls) adding 76 runs together for the opening wicket. But Punjab left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar (3/22 in 4 overs) dismissed both the batters and restricted the opposition. Despite a fighting knock from Dhruv Jurel (53 runs off 31 balls), the Royals fell short by 10 runs and Punjab Kings won the game.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Punjab Kings spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi praised Harpreet Brar for his performance and said, “I think he has been very consistent. Last year he also bowled really well. Whenever he has received the opportunity, he has performed. And today as well, he made a big difference for Punjab Kings. Our plan was to get Brar and take wickets when the opposition was forming a partnership, and he did that.”

“I think it’s a team effort. Lot of team strategies goes behind the scenes. Whenever a partnership happens, all we have to do is bowl dot balls and get wickets. That’s the strategy we opted and it worked for us,” he further added.

Joshi also praised Shreyas Iyer for his captaincy and his rotation with the ball and credited him for making smart moves to help the side. “Shreyas is a positive leader and a street-smart cricketer. He knows when you need to make subtle changes. He is experienced and a title-winning captain. He knows domestic circuit well. He has always enjoyed players’ confidence. Talking to players make a bigger impact in players and the leader,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iyer also praised Brar for his performance at the post-match presentation ceremony and explained his side’s strategy. “Brar has been consistent in the nets. He wants to do the best for himself, he was hungry for this opportunity and today I feel he stepped in and delivered at his best, congratulations to him and his mindset has been tremendous throughout. Absolutely brilliant approach and attitude coming in after the break, the boys were in high spirits and we also needed a rest, going forward in the tournament, it was the right time we came in together and showed the kind of mindset to win irrespective of the situation,” Iyer said.

Brar, who was handed the Player of the match award trophy, credited the prize to his wife and also gave an insight into his conversations with head coach Ricky Ponting in the lead-up to the game.

“I am feeling really good. I would like to dedicate this award to my wife as it is my first after marriage. We practice a lot against the left handers, Ponting Sir has told us that a leftie can get a leftie out. I have worked on that, I knew they would come after me but I backed to bowl to my strengths. The way the wicket was playing and they were batting, the plan was to not give a boundary or give them easy balls,” he said.

Punjab Kings will next face off against Delhi Capitals at the same stadium on Saturday, May 24.

–IANS

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