Lucknow Super Giants middle order batter Prerak Mankad revealed his conversation alongside Marcus Stoinis during their 3rd wicket partnership against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. The 29-year-old played a match-winning knock of 64 runs off 45 balls to help his side stay in the hunt for the playoffs race.
Prerak Mankad smashed a brilliant half-century after coming into the side in the place of Deepak Hooda, as he provided stability in the chase against the 2016 champions, alongside their star batters Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran.
Speaking to the broadcasters, after winning the player of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mankad was elated to play a vital role in winning the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and expressed his gratitude to the team management for the opportunity to bat Number three position for his side and said that domestic cricket has helped him to do well in the cash-rich league.
“It feels amazing to play a big role in the team winning. I am very grateful to the team management and everyone for giving me this huge platform and giving me the opportunity to bat at this number in the order,” Prerak Mankad said.
“I have been playing domestic cricket for the last five to six years in all formats. It helped me a lot. And performances there do help any player. I am glad that the team won the game today,” he added.
Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran took on Abhishek Sharma in the 16th over to score 31 runs to tilt the game in the favour of the Lucknow Super Giants in their all-important match to keep them alive in the race for the playoffs.
Marcus Stoinis And Nicholas Pooran Told Me Back My Strength – Prerak Mankad
Prerak Mankad revealed that their hard hitters Stoinis and Pooran advised him to hold back to his strength and try to execute his game plan against SRH and said that the surface of bit sticky and the ball was not coming onto the bat that easily in the afternoon game.
“Well, both Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran told me to back my strength, some basic things, and that helped me execute the strokes,” he added.
“It was a decent wicket and the ball was sticking a bit, especially when the bowlers were preferring cross-seam,” Prerak Mankad added.
LSG now has six wins from 12 games and is now in the fourth spot with 13 points just behind Gujarat Titans (16 points), CSK (15 points), and Mumbai Indians (14 points), and will look to win the remaining games to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive time.