MUMBAI: Punjab Kings (PBKS) went down against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, but the PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal praised pacer Arshdeep Singh for the way he stood out with his performance.
A fiery half-century by Yashasvi Jaiswal (68 off 41 balls) and a three-wicket haul by Yuzvendra Chahal (3/28) gave RR a six-wicket win here at the Wankhede Stadium.
For Punjab, Arshdeep (2/29) scalped two wickets, dismissing Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal (31).
"Arshdeep has been nothing short of brilliant," said Mayank Agarwal at the post-match presentation. "He puts his hand up when the team needs it. He has been a leader in the team, and it has been fantastic for us.
Batting first, a half-century from Jonny Bairstow (56*), followed by Jitesh Sharma (38*) and Liam Livingstone's (22*) quick knocks, powered Punjab to a solid 189/5.
Agarwal said the team couldn't execute its bowling plans to perfection while defending a competitive total.
"In the middle overs, we didn't stick to our bowling plans. They kept coming hard at us and kept scoring boundaries. Going through and through for 20 overs, they had the momentum on their side," he said.
Jaiswal's knock and a cameo from Shimron Hetmyer (31 off 16) gave Rajasthan their seventh win with two balls to spare.
