PBKS Vs RR: RR Kept Coming At Us, Kept Scoring Runs And Hitting Boundaries In Middle Overs: Mayank Agarwal After PBKS’ Loss To RR

Mayank Agarwal was not a happy man as in the 52^nd match of the IPL 2022 his team Punjab Kings (PBKS) were handed a 6-wicket defeat by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 7, 2022, played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This was a crucial match for both the teams as one has their one leg in the playoffs, while the other needed a win to remain in contention.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and Mayank Agarwal decided to bat first in the day game. PBKS went in unchanged, while RR brought in Yashasvi Jaiswal for Karun Nair in their playing XI.

Jonny Bairstow (56), Jitesh Sharma (38*), and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (27) helped PBKS put on 189/5 in the 20 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal continued his wicket-taking spree as he took 3/28 in 4 overs. Punjab Kings could have scored more runs, but the RR bowlers managed to pull back in the middle overs in the second half of the innings.

I Thought We Had A Very Good Total And We Were Very Happy With The Score We’d Got: Mayank Agarwal

In reply, Rajasthan Royals started off well with Jos Buttler slamming 30 in 16 balls, but when his wicket fell, PBKS thought they had an in. Sanju Samson added 23 runs before getting out. But Yashasvi Jaiswal gave stability to the chase. He made 68 runs in 41 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes to his name.

On the other end, Devdutt Padikkal was finding it difficult to get going, scoring 31 in 32 balls before getting out. But Shimron Hetmyer took over from Jaiswal and slammed 31* in 16 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes and took the Rajasthan Royals to their first win this IPL 2022 while chasing with 6 wickets in hand.

Here is what Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal had to say after his side’s loss:

“I thought we had a very good total and we were very happy with the score we’d got. To be honest, we didnt stick to our plans in the middle overs and couldn’t execute them as well as we’d like to. And they kept coming at us, kept scoring runs and hitting boundaries. Hence, we couldn’t hold them up in between which became very tough for us. They had the momentum on their side throughout the 20 overs.

(On Arshdeep Singh) He has been nothing short of brilliant I must say. Every time we have been in a tricky situation, he has put his hands up and executed it well. He has been exceptional and a leader in the team. It is good for us that he comes out and bowls the way he’s doing. Jonny came out and bat exceptionally well. We have to make the best of the resources we have.”

Also Read: “I Felt Like I Wasn’t Treated Properly For The Last Two Years In IPL”: Chris Gayle On Why He Gave IPL 2022 A Miss