Kumar Sangakkara Names Player Who Had The 'Hardest' Job To Do In PBKS vs RR Clash. Not Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise on finisher Shubham Dubey for his mental strength and match awareness after the left-hander played a match-winning knock of 31 runs as an impact player against Punjab Kings
Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise on finisher Shubham Dubey for his mental strength and match awareness after the left-hander played a match-winning knock of 31 runs as an impact player against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the PCA New International Stadium. Chasing a daunting target of 223, Rajasthan Royals were under pressure with the required run rate climbing steeply. However, Dubey, alongside Donovan Ferreira, turned the game around with an unbeaten 77-run partnership off just 32 balls to seal the chase in 19.2 overs and hand Punjab Kings their first defeat of the season.
"I thought Dubey, coming in as an impact player, it's one of the hardest things to do because you don't know if you're playing. So mentally, he is exceptionally skilled to be able to keep that focus and go out there and bring the game to us. He came in at a tough position," Sangakkara told reporters after the match.
"Riyan Parag's small innings was exactly what we needed to bring the momentum back. So it was a collective effort," he added.
Earlier in the chase, 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provided a blistering start with 43 off 16 balls, while Yashasvi Jaiswal chipped in with a fluent 51. Despite a brief slowdown triggered by Yuzvendra Chahal's strikes, RR stayed in contention before their finishers took charge.
Sangakkara also underlined the depth in Rajasthan's batting unit, insisting that the spotlight should not be limited to just Vaibhav.
"I know the focus is a lot on Vaibhav, and I know why-because he's an incredible player and amazing to watch. But at the same time, when I look at my side and run through my batters, there's Vaibhav, Dhruv Jurel, Yash, Riyan, Donovan Ferreira, Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, and Dasun Shanaka today-they're all top players," he said.
Punjab Kings had earlier posted a formidable 222/4, powered by an unbeaten 62 off 22 balls from Marcus Stoinis, while Prabhsimran Singh made 59 and Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 30.
Despite the big total, Rajasthan's fearless finishing turned the game on its head, handing Punjab their first loss of the season.
Mumbai Indians
Rajasthan Royals
Punjab Kings