Punjab Kings’ star with the bat Shahrukh Khan said that he was confident of finishing the game for his team against the Lucknow Super Giants owing to the thrilling encounter in Ekana Stadium on Saturday. The Tamil Nadu batter held his nerve in the final over against Ravi Bishnoi to help his team cross the finishing line.
Speaking to the broadcasters, after the successful chase against KL Rahul-led side, Shahrukh Khan was full of praise for their bowlers for restricting the LSG to a par total in the 1st innings. He hailed Sikandar Raza for his brilliant batting in the middle overs.
“Really feeling good, after the first innings, it was important to play a par game (in the chase). Raza played superbly and set it up for me. My mindset was just to stay with the ball, the practice is working out for me,” said Shahrukh Khan.
Punjab Kings-led by Sam Curran in the absence of their regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan, won the toss and bowled first against KL Rahul’s team. PBKS bowlers picked wickets of Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran, and Marcus Stoinis in quick succession in the middle overs to help them restrict their team.
With 160 runs, Lucknow Super Giants made a brilliant start with the ball, before Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza changed the momentum of the game taking Krunal Pandya to the cleaners.
KL Rahul-led side had a slight hope with Punjab Kings landed themselves in massive trouble losing Raza and Brar in the 18th and 19th over, but their young gun Shahrukh Khan 23* (10) with a strong will helped his side to clinch the game.
I Was Confident, That I Could Finish In The Last Over – Shahrukh Khan
Coming into the bat, Shahrukh Khan struck a boundary and two sixes to ensure his team win the match with three balls to spare. Punjab Kings currently sits fourth on the points table with three wins out of five games in the league stage so far.
“I’m powerful, cheeky shots don’t work for me, so I try to hit straight and it’s good to use my muscles. I just told Brar to go for the big hit since it was the last (5th) ball of the over, unfortunately, he got out, but I was confident I could finish in the last over,” Shahrukh Khan added.
Shahrukh Khan scored only 117 runs across eight innings at a strike rate of 108.33, marking a forgettable season in 2022. However, he made a brilliant comeback in the last two games for his team playing vital cameos at the end of the innings for Punjab.