Kolkata, April 27 After the reverse encounter between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday ended in a no result, PBKS openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran credited veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for key advice during the match that helped them perform well against KKR.
After winning the toss, Arya and Prabhsimran stitched a 120-run stand for the first wicket, setting up their side for a big total. While the left-handed batter scored 69 off 35 balls with eight fours and four sixes, Prabhsimran scored 83 off 49 balls with six fours and as many sixes in his innings. The duo helped their side post a solid total of 201/4 in 20 overs on a slow and turning track.
"Yuzi bhaiya came to me before the start of the match and explained to me how the wicket will be behaving on the day. It helped me because I am not the best in reading the tracks," Priyansh said.
Prabhsimran added, "Before the match Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal) paaji told me that I am contributing well with 30-35 runs at the top. He told me that the ball will spin on the track, and hence I should take my time in adjusting to the conditions. So, I took my time initially and it helped me later on to play my shots. All thanks to Yuzi paaji."
Meanwhile, addressing the dressing room, head coach Ricky Ponting also praised the openers for their spectacular batting and highlighted the importance of earning one point despite the match ending without a result.
"We knew the wicket might not be as good as some others that we have batted on. We talked about being a little bit more circumspect in the power play, making sure we had set-batters going through into the next phase against their spinners. The things that we spoke about today were executed perfectly by the openers," Ponting said.
"Prabh, you gave yourself a extra few balls, and you ended up scoring 83 off 49, which set the game up perfectly for us, so, well done. We take one point out of the game, but I think as a group we can take a whole lot more of that," he added.
Now, Punjab will next travel to MA Chidambaram Satdium in Chennai to face off against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. Speaking on the upcoming matches, Prabhsimran said, "All we are thinking is that we have to win our remaining games. Also, We would love to see Priyansh score another IPL hundred against Chennai in our next game."
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