Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody lauded Punjab Kings’ stand-in skipper Sam Curran for his exceptional captaincy skills to outfox the five-time champions Mumbai Indians in a closely contested encounter on Saturday. The 24-year-old was handed the responsibility absence of their regular skipper Shikar Dhawan in the last three games and has done outstandingly well for the Punjab side.
The England all-rounder played a brilliant knock with the bat, as he took the team out of trouble from a struggling position of 83-4 to help the team post a mammoth total of 214-8 at the end of the 20 overs. Sam Curran was the top scorer for Punjab Kings scoring 55 runs off just 29 balls.
Speaking on Sam Curran’s captaincy skills, Tom Moody hailed the England all-rounder for his bowling changes in the end overs, as he looked a little out of form with the ball for Punjab. Sam Curran trusted Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep Singh to bowl the death overs for the side, though he had an over to bowl in the match.
“Sam Curran felt that he was not quite on song tonight. That shows good leadership to look at the broader picture of what’s available. Sam was going nearly 14 and over so he had an expensive night with the ball, which is unusual for him, and recognized that maybe that was not his night so he shared that responsibility and he had the resources to do it,” Tom Moody said
After a poor start in the initial stage of the innings, Punjab Kings skipper Sam Curran joined alongside Harpreet Bhatia to put on a partnership for their side and both the batters targeted the young Arjun Tendulkar in the 16th over taking him for cleaners to all parts of the ground to score 31 runs which changed the momentum in favour of their side.
In the final five overs Punjab Kings scored 96 runs to put a mammoth total of 214-8 at the end of 20 overs.
Sam Curran Is Showing Some Really Good Leadership Skills – Tom Moody
Tom Moody said that Sam Curran showed brilliant captaincy skills and praised him for his superior skills in the Indian Premier League, despite being new to the leadership role. Sam Curran was the Player of the Tournament when England lifted the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
“Sam Curran is showing some really good leadership skills, particularly for someone who has not experienced leadership before. He’s captaining a team in the IPL – the biggest T20 tournament on the planet and is doing it very very well,” Tom Moody added.
Punjab Kings came back stronger after their loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their fourth victory in the league stage. They will take on Lucknow Super Giants in their next match on April 28.