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Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012-winning member Manoj Tiwary has accused Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting of favouring foreign players instead of local talent. Tiwary is not happy with Ponting sending an out-of-form Glenn Maxwell followed by Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis instead of Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the clash at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Tiwary feels Ponting doesn't trust Indian batters and if he persists with this approach, Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS will not win the IPL trophy this year.
"My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera [Wadhera] and Shasank singh [Shashank], instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they cudnt [sic] and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persist in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of there qualification in top two," Tiwary wrote on X.
Three overseas players back-to-back, no onslaught in slog overs
PBKS openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh got PBKS off to a great start. They shared a 120-run opening partnership. Arya scored 69 runs from 35 balls. Then, skipper Iyer walked in to bat. In the 15th over, Prabhsimran lost his wicket for a 49-ball 83. Despite lack of form, Maxwell was sent in to bat and he was knocked over by Varun Chakravarthy. The Australian scored seven runs from eight balls. Wadhera seemed an obvious option to send but it wasn't the case. Then, Jansen came in to bat and scored three runs from seven balls before he was dismissed by Vaibhav Arora. At no.6, Josh Inglis walked in to bat and scored 11 runs from six balls.
Skipper Iyer remained unbeaten for 25 off 16 balls including a six and a four. PBKS managed to post 201/4, below par considering the kind of start they got. After Prabhsimran's departure, the visitors could add 41 runs to the score from 33 balls. They squandered an opportunity to post a huge total to put Ajinkya Rahane-led side under pressure.
Rain plays spoil sport aat Eden Gardens
PBKS and KKR ended up sharing one point each as rain played spoilsport. KKR were seven runs for no loss after one over when rain interrupted play. PBKS are fourth on the points table with five wins from nine games.
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