"I focus on bowlers bowling well, their lines and strengths": Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma
May 08, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 8 : Punjab Kings wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma said on Monday that he keeps an eye on bowler's strengths, line and lengths and focuses on bowlers bowling well and prepares accordingly for his game.
Talking ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he said, " I observe from outside on what is the bowler's strength, which bowler is bowling well and what lines are they bowling. I prepare accordingly, stay ready to play certain lengths. I try and stay in the present, just keeping my focus one match at a time."
Talking about his side's topsy-turvy season this time, Jitesh said that it is a part of the sport. But it has not caused them to sacrifice on their intent.
"This is part of the game, but our intent is the same. The process is also the same even if results have not gone our way. We have decided to play attacking cricket, and that has been the plan throughout. Going good so far (on his personal performances), but had a few of those performances ended on winning notes it would have felt better for me. I am contributing as much as I can for the team."
Jitesh is making a massive impact as a finisher/power-hitter for PBKS. In 11 games so far, he has scored 239 runs at an average of 26.55 and a strike rate of 165.97. His best score this season is 49*. He has turned up with small, but impactful scores for his team in this season.
Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
PBKS is at the seventh spot in the points table with five wins and five losses. They have a total of 10 points. KKR is in the eighth position in the points table with four wins and six losses. They have a total of eight points. KKR had won their previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad while PBKS had lost their last match against Mumbai Indians.
Punjab replaced Matthew Short with Bhanuka Rajapaksa while KKR fielded an unchanged side.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy.
