Arshdeep kept it simple and bowled to his strengths: Langeveldt

Punjab Kings suffered their sixth loss in 11 league matches after going down to the Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in a nail-biting clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. 

The visiting side posted 179 runs on a sluggish surface and managed to scalp two early wickets to dent the Knight Riders early in the run chase. 

However, Nitish Rana scored a brilliant half-century and was well-supported by Andre Russell and Rinku Singh to guide the Knight Riders over the line in the last over. 

In the post-match press conference, Charl Langeveldt, the fast-bowling coach of the Punjab outfit, shared his views on the game. 

"It is a tough one, and I think a few things went wrong with the two overs that blew us up. They played the short boundary well and put our bowling attack under pressure."

"They have got three quality spinners, and the wicket did spin a bit. Chasing on this particular ground with the spinners, we thought runs on the board will be good to put them under pressure," he said. 

With six runs required off the final over, Arshdeep Singh nailed his yorkers and got the equation down to two off the last ball. However, Rinku Singh smashed a boundary to seal the deal for the home team. 

"Arshdeep has been brilliant for us. He struggled in the last two games, and for him to come back and bowl the last over under pressure was outstanding. He kept it simple and bowled to his strengths and outside of their hitting zone," he said. 

On a sluggish surface, the visiting side opted to use Nathan Ellis as the impact substitute rather than Sikandar Raza, which raised plenty of eyebrows. 

However, the South African backed the decision to go with Ellis mainly due to his ability to bowl under pressure and in the powerplay. 

"It was a very simple decision because Nathan Ellis has been bowling really well, and he has been our go-to guy under pressure and in the powerplay, and it was not a very difficult choice because tonight, he proved himself again," he concluded. 

Punjab Kings will now travel to Delhi for an evening encounter against the Capitals on Saturday, May 13.