After his team’s heartbreaking loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Shikhar Dhawan said that he was fully confident that Sashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma could win the match in any situation.
While speaking about the match, Dhawan was all praise for the duo, with 29 needed for the final over Ashutosh Sharma, who went all guns blazing against Jaydev Unadkat but ultimately felt short by three runs.
In his post-match presentation, Shikhar Dhawan said, “Shashank and Ashutosh played great knocks. I feel that we kept them to a good total.
Unfortunately, we could not cash in on the first six overs, and that is where we lost the game. That pinched us hard. The wicket was not offering that much bounce, so every individual has to come up with better plans. Because we got out, of course we would want to change our strokes.”
In Punjab’s previous encounter against Gujarat Titans, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma emerged as match winners, scoring 61 of 29 deliveries and helping their side win a thriller.
Dhawan further praised the duo for adding 66 runs out of 27 deliveries. However, the PBKS skipper feels that the top order needed to step up in chase.
Shikhar Dhawan said, “As a batting unit, we did not perform. It is important for the top order to perform. (On Ashutosh and Shashank) It is great to see those youngsters coming in and chipping in. We are going to bounce back from this loss. There was always the hope that they could finish the game. Hats off to them for bringing it this close. It gives us confidence and hope for the next game. We have to do better in certain areas and improve.”
Shikhar Dhawan, however, slammed his team’s fielding efforts, which in turn became the difference between the two sides.
Dhawan said, “I feel that at the end, we dropped that catch on the last ball. We could have stopped 10–15 runs more, and that made a difference as well.”
PBKS will now face the Rajasthan Royals on April 13.
