Our plan was to cash in on the powerplay: Prabhsimran Singh

Punjab Kings (PBKS) chased down a record target against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 26 (Friday) at the Eden Gardens to notch up their third win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. Chasing 262, PBKS got off to the perfect start, notching up 93 in the powerplay, with opening batter Prabhsimran Singh contributing 64 off 20 before getting run out right at the end of the sixth over.

The batter reveals that the idea was to cash in on the powerplay, so as to set up a good base for the mammoth chase.

"No matter how big the score is, the team chasing always thinks that they want to chase down the total. We planned to just cash in the powerplay and we did that. We are happy to complete the chase and win those crucial two points," Prabhsimran said at the post-match press conference.

"There was belief in everyone that if we conceded so many runs, then we could easily chase it. Coach [Trevor] Bayliss told us that we do not have to take the pressure of chasing the total, and asked us to bat like our normal selves. We needed to dominate and we were able to do that and get the win."

Jonny Bairstow returned to form with a blistering century, smashing an unbeaten 108 off just 48 deliveries to ease his side to a comfortable victory in the end.

Speaking of Bairstow, Prabhsimran said, "Jonny Bairstow is one of the biggest players in the world. He also plays Test cricket and has been delivering for his country for so many years across formats. Everyone knows what he is capable of. In cricket, you can come out of form with just one match. He scored a hundred today and played a crucial knock."

The Punjab batter also confirmed that there was no dew at the Eden Gardens on Friday. "It was a batting surface. Our minds were clear and we knew what we had to do. There was no dew factor on the surface. But the clarity of minds helped us," he added.

With this win, PBKS have moved to eighth in the IPL 2024 table with six points from eight games. They take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) next on May 1 (Wednesday) in Chennai.