Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer on Tuesday said he wants his batters to play with an aggressive, fearless, and free-flowing mindset, something young opener Priyansh Arya showcased during his sensational maiden IPL century against Chennai Super Kings.
Arya rode on his luck and power-hitting to slam 103 off 42 balls — the fifth fastest century in IPL history as PBKS posted 219/6 despite half their side returning to the dugout in the first eight overs.
“Absolutely. This is going to be the template, irrespective of the ground. We have variety in the batting line-up. Great hitters, great timers, scintillating to watch Priyansh bat from the outside.”
“When I had a chat with him in the last game, he was a bit timid in his decision-making against Jofra (Archer). Tonight, he was backing his instincts,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation. “It was free-flowing and that is the mindset I want in everyone. Today, he kept on going, he was fearless and it was basically one of the top knocks I have seen in the IPL so far.” Yuzvendra Chahal bowled just one over giving away nine runs and Iyer said it was a tactical move to hold back the experienced leg-spinner.
“That was a tactical call, because (Shivam) Dube had already played a few deliveries, and also Conway. With Yuzi coming in, we know how destructive he (Dube) can be. But Yuzi is a smart bowler. My instincts felt that pacers bowling slower balls into the wicket (would work), and we basically wanted pace against Dube.
“We delayed a bit but eventually, it worked out.” CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad lamented his side’s missed chances in the field, admitting that dropped catches have cost them dearly in recent games. “I think the last four games, the only point of difference, it has been critical, the catches we have been dropping, the same batsman is scoring 15,20, 30 runs,” he said after CSK lost by 18 runs against Punjab Kings.
Gaikwad was full of praise for young PBKS opener Arya.
“Priyansh played well. High risk batting and it came off well. We were getting wickets at regular intervals but they kept the momentum going. 10-15 runs lesser would have helped us. But it comes down to dropped catches. It was spot on in the batting perspective,” he said.
Chasing an imposing 220-run target, CSK could manage 201 for 5.
“Two of our best batters who play pace well went at the top of the order. They had a good powerplay. Lot of positives in the batting department. We were two three hits away today,” Gaikwad said.
On the decision to retire Conway and bring in Ravindra Jadeja towards the end when CSK needed big hits to win, the skipper said “He (Conway) is more of a timer of the ball, very useful up the order.
“When you have Jaddu, known for that (finishing) role particularly, you expect that. When you know the batter is struggling…initially he (Conway) was still timing it well. We waited and waited until (he started struggling).”
