‘I was surprised’: Shikhar Dhawan lauds Mayank Yadav

NEW DELHI: Young speedster Mayank Yadav claimed three wickets on his IPL debut as Lucknow Super Giants defeated Punjab Kings by 21 runs in their IPL 2024 clash at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants posted a mammoth 199 for 8, thanks to Quinton de Kock’s belligerent fifty (54 off 38 balls) and classy knocks from stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran (42) and Krunal Pandya (43).
Chasing a 200-run target for victory, Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan smashed a 50-ball 70, while Jonny Bairstow scored a 29-ball 42 as the duo amassed 102 runs for the opening wicket.But the debutant Mayank had some other plans. He struck when things were starting to look bleak for LSG, getting rid of Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma to return figures of 3/27.
Punjab Kings could only manage 178/5 in their 20 overs and suffered a 21-run defeat. This was Punjab Kings’ second loss in three matches.
“They played well, pity that Livi (Livingstone) got injured, that hurt us, he would have come at 4. We started off well, but Mayank bowled well with his pace. It was nice facing him, I was surprised at his pace, but I wanted to use his pace against him, but he bowled the bouncers and the yorkers well,” Punjab Kings captain Dhawan said at the post match presentation.
“I was quite mindful, asked the batters to use the short side and use his pace, but he bowled into his body (on Bairstow’s dismissal) and got him OUT, I said the same to Jitesh as well. But Mohsin bowled really well, he kept a good length and suffocated us. We will have to analyse these defeats, the drop catch did cost us some momentum. That’s something we’ll have to improve going forward,” Dhawan said.
Punjab Kings will next face Gujarat Titans on April 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.