March 26 (IANS) After Punjab Kings sealed a narrow 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans in a high-scoring contest, head coach Ricky Ponting revealed what made him bring on Vyshak as an impact player, saying captain Shreyas Iyer asked him to bring the medium pacer to nail a couple of overs at yorkers and close out the game.
After Iyer led from the front, scoring an unbeaten 97 in 42 balls at a strike rate of 230.95, to help his side to a mammoth total of 243/5 in 20 overs, it was Vijaykumar Vyshak’s crucial middle-over spells that restricted GT to 232/5 at the end of their 20 overs to seal a narrow win .
“While sitting in the dugout, I was like they need 13 or 14 runs in an over and I sent the message to Shreyas and asked what do you want to do and he straight away said, just get Vyshak out here. He will nail a couple of overs at yorkers, and we will close the game and Vyshak was the one who changed the game,” Ponting said.
Vyshak, who changed the game with his exceptional bowling at the end reflected on his performance and stated, “It’s a surreal feeling when you win the game, especially when you do it for the team in that situation, it really feels good and you can go to bed with a lot of happiness. I have learnt a lot today as well and it’s a great lesson for me. Though, I was running around, I didn’t know until we started bowling that I might be an impact player. I am really glad I got this opportunity and won it for the team.”
Punjab Kings will next face off against Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 1.
–IANS
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