Punjab Kings spinner Harpreet Brar dedicates 'Player of the Match' award against Rajasthan Royals to his wife
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], May 18 (ANI): Punjab Kings left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar dedicated his Player of the Match award to his wife, as it is the first one for him after his marriage.
Brar snapped three wickets in his spell of four overs, where he conceded just 22 runs at an economy of 5.50. He was awarded the Player of the Match award for this exceptional bowling performance in the game.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Brar said, "I am feeling really good. I would like to dedicate this award to my wife, as it is my first after marriage. We practice a lot against left-handers. Ponting Sir has told us that a leftie can get a leftie out. I have worked on that, I knew they would come after me, but I backed to bowl to my strengths. The way the wicket was playing and they were batting, the plan was not to give a boundary or give them easy balls. I have been with Sunil (Joshi) Sir for a long time, I have learned a lot, he's taught me how to use the crease, how to read the batter and the wicket. After Chahal's arrival, I thought it would be easy to bowl with him. I didn't get an opportunity at the start, but cricket is a funny game. I always thought that once I got an opportunity, I will grab it."
A brilliant bowling performance from left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar guided the Punjab Kings (PBKS) team to victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 10 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Opting to bat first, PBKS was 34/3. Following that, a 67-run stand between skipper Shreyas Iyer (30 in 25 balls, five fours) and Nehal Wadhera (70 in 37 balls, with five fours and five sixes) and a 58-run partnership between Wadhera and Shashank Singh (59* in 30 balls, with five fours and three sixes) solidified PBKS's hold on the game. Then an explosive partnership between Shashank and Azmatullah Omarzai (21* in three balls, with three fours and a six) took PBKS to 219/5 in their 20 overs.
Tushar Deshpande (2/37) was the leading wicket-taker for RR.
In the run-chase, young openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 in 25 balls, with nine fours and a six) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 in 15 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) provided RR with the start they needed, getting 76 runs in just 4.5 overs. RR kept up with the run-rate despite losing wickets later, with Dhruv Jurel (53 in 31 balls, with six fours and four sixes) playing another fine knock. However, other batters failed to respond to the scoreboard pressure, falling 11 runs short, with RR finishing at 209/7.
Harpreet Brar (3/22) was the top bowler for PBKS. Marco Jansen (2/41) and Omarzai (2/44) also were solid with the ball.
PBKS is at the second spot with eight wins and three losses, giving them 17 points, with one point from a no result. RR is at ninth, having won three, lost 10, having six points. (ANI)
(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)
