After being overlooked in the first four games, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi put Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) IPL 2021 campaign back on track with a brilliant spell against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday (April 23).
Bishnoi returned with the figures of 2 for 21 in his four overs as PBKS restricted the defending champions to a below-par 131/6 in 20 overs.
After the game, Anil Kumble, Director of Cricket Operations, revealed the reason behind Bishnoi's absence from the initial games.
"I know Bishnoi played all the games last season. When he joined us this season, I thought he was not the same bowler that we had seen last year. I was working with him on his run-up, few things here and there because he was drifting down the leg side and that's the reason he didn't start the tournament," said Kumble in a video uploaded on Punjab Kings Twitter handle.
"Over the last one week, he worked on his skills. So wonderful to see him back, he is always a competitor. He picked two wickets in an important game like this," he added.
Chasing the target, Punjab rode on captain KL Rahul’s unbeaten 60 off 52 balls and Chris Gayle’s 35-ball 43* to get over the line with 9 wickets in hand 14 balls to spare.
Kumble praised skipper Rahul not only for his knock but also for utilizing his bowling resources brilliantly.
"Happy with the win. It is not an easy pitch to play on. Yes, we were disappointed with the loss against SRH, another 15-20 runs and we would have crossed the line. I think, the team batted really well against Mumbai Indians and bowled exceptionally well. I think on a surface like this you need to execute your plans and that is something we did," the former India skipper said.
"Kudos to Rahul, the way he handled the bowlers. Every bowler played their part, or fielding was really good and intensity was really good too and that's what you want in a must-win game like this. This win will give us a lot of confidence. Overall really happy with how things went," he added.
Punjab Kings will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match on Monday (April 26).
