IPL 2021: Rahul and I planned on playing proper cricketing shots, says Mayank
Apr 24, 2021
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 24 : Punjab Kings' opening batsman Mayank Agarwal has said that along with skipper KL Rahul, he decided to play proper cricketing shots while chasing 132 against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League encounter.
Rahul and Chris Gayle played unbeaten knocks of 60 and 43 as Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by nine wickets with 14 balls to spare here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. Mayank Agarwal also chipped in with a knock of 25 from 20 balls and the only wicket for Mumbai Indians was taken by Rahul Chahar as he dismissed Mayank.
"It was nice to get two points on the board, finishing it off with 9 wickets in hand was good, the way we paced our innings was excellent. The discussion between Rahul and myself was simple -- play proper and good cricketing shots, try to play as straight as possible, especially on slow pitches like this, unless the ball was short where we could play on the square," Mayank told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match against Mumbai.
"We were looking for a good powerplay, that's what we did. We just need to keep backing the bowlers, remind them of the plans and keep up with the energy levels, that was most important as we don't have crowds to support us. That helps keep everyone up and running," he added.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav played knocks of 63 and 33 respectively as Mumbai Indians posted a score of 131/6 in the allotted twenty overs.
Kieron Pollard remained unbeaten on 16 to take MI's score past the 130-run mark. For Punjab, Mohammed Shami and Ravi Bishnoi scalped two wickets each.
Punjab Kings is now at the fifth position in the IPL points table with 4 points from 5 games. The side will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
