New Chandigarh, April 29 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise on finisher Shubham Dubey for his mental strength and match awareness after the left-hander played a match-winning knock of 31 runs, coming as an impact player against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the PCA New International Stadium.

Chasing a daunting 223, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) were under pressure with the required rate climbing steeply. But Dubey, alongside Donovan Ferreira, turned the game around with an unbeaten 77-run partnership off just 32 balls to seal the chase in 19.2 overs and hand Punjab Kings (PBKS) their first defeat of the season.

“I thought Dubey, coming in as an impact player, it’s one of the hardest things to do, because you don’t know if you’re playing. So mentally, he is exceptionally skilful to be able to keep that focus and go and bring the game to us. He went in at a tough position,” Sangakkara told reporters after the match. “Riyan Parag’s small innings was exactly what we needed to bring the momentum back over here. So it was a collective effort,” he added.

Earlier in the chase, 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provided a blistering start with 43 off 16 balls, while Yashasvi Jaiswal chipped in with a fluent 51. Despite a brief slowdown triggered by Yuzvendra Chahal’s strikes, RR stayed in contention before their finishers took charge.

Sangakkara also underlined the depth in Rajasthan’s batting unit, insisting the spotlight should not be limited to just Vaibhav.

“I know the focus is a lot on Vaibhav, and I know why, because he’s an incredible player, amazing to watch. But at the same time, when I look at my side, and I run through my batters, there’s Vaibhav, Dhruv Jurel, Yash, Riyan, Donovan Ferreira, Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dasun Shanaka today, they’re all top players,” he said.

Punjab Kings had earlier posted a formidable 222/4, powered by an unbeaten 62 off 22 balls from Marcus Stoinis, while Prabhsimran Singh made 59 and Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 30.

Despite the big total, Rajasthan’s fearless finishing turned the game around, handing Punjab their first loss of the season.

–IANS

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