PBKS have lost two games out of 6 played, yet remain at the top of the points table.
However, PBKS batters struggled on a slowish wicket and were reduced to 47/5. It was then that Suryansh Shedge came to the fore, hitting 57 in 29 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes. He added 79 important runs with Marcus Stoinis, who made 40 runs. PBKS made 163/9, as Marco Jansen also made 20 in 11 balls.
In response, Sai Sudharsan made 57, Jos Buttler made 26, and Washington Sundar made 40* to win the game by 4 wickets.
Shedge was amazing in his knock, with the highlight being his destruction of Manav Suthar, who was hit for three sixes and two fours in the only over bowled by the bowler. Shedge stated that PBKS fell short by a few runs, but the total they got was still fighting.
"Perhaps we could have scored 20 to 25 more runs, but I still believe 163 was a fighting total. We gave everything we had, and there are many positives to take from this game,” Shedge said in the post-match press conference.
This was Shedge’s second game for the season, and he insisted that he knew his turn would come soon and that he was preparing himself for it.
“I wouldn't say I was waiting; I was preparing. The time on the sidelines benefited me, and it gave me the opportunity to prepare physically and mentally. Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer have consistently told me the same thing, too: when the opportunity arrives, you must be ready to take it with both hands. That is what I tried to do today," he said.
The 23-year-old Mumbaikar stated that the Ahmedabad pitch was not batting-friendly, and he had to alter his game accordingly.
"My only intention was to spend as much time at the crease as possible, and I think that made things easier as I progressed through the innings. On such wickets, a batter has to take time to settle before playing expansive shots. Targeting 240 or 250 on this track was never realistic; the double-paced surface simply did not allow it,” he said.
(ANI inputs)