Mullanpur, April 11 After a heartbreaking loss in last year's final, Punjab Kings are eager to win their first IPL title this season, although captain Shreyas Iyer acknowledged that "it will take a lot of effort to achieve that".
Iyer led from the front with an unbeaten 69 off 33 balls to guide PBKS to a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Saturday, easily chasing a target of 220 after openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh set the stage with a brilliant partnership of 99.
"They are performing well on the field. I keep emphasizing this, you have to stay focused on the present. Ricky (Ponting) also places a lot of importance on this aspect. Even last year, we came very close to winning the trophy. This year, we want to win it. It will take a lot of effort to achieve that," Iyer said at the presentation ceremony.
Shreyas praised the efforts of his openers, who laid a strong foundation with their aggressive batting in the powerplay.
"Firstly, we had a fantastic start. When you are chasing 220, you need that start. It was pleasing to watch, with proper cricketing shots. We maintained a good rhythm at the start. It was not easy, but I needed to give myself time to adjust. Once I gauged the pace of the pitch..."
After winning the toss and opting to field, PBKS bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, with the duo adding 120 runs in just 8.1 overs.
However, Shashank Singh brought them back into the contest by dismissing both Head and Abhishek in the same over.
Asked about SRH's start, Shreyas said, "All of us came together, and Shashank approached me, asking for an over. Ricky came and asked me, what's your thought? I said I'll go with Shashank – I need someone to take the pressure off.
"He delivered, he lived up to his expectations, kudos to him... At the end of the day, we all know we have the skills. We need a strong mindset when we go for such chases."
Iyer also said that Priyansh and Prabhsimran have full freedom to express themselves at the top.
"The openers have been performing well, they don't need to curb their instincts. The others, who set the platform from the start, it's easy for us to rotate strike and go according to the run rate. Overall, we've been magnificent with our work ethic.
"All the players worked hard..."
Wearing a disappointed look, SRH captain Ishan Kishan acknowledged that they could have scored more after the start provided by Abhishek and Head and also admitted that his team was not good with execution.
"We could have ended with a total of 250, the way we started... At the same time, they batted well in the beginning. At the same time, we were not so good with the execution – in T20 cricket, the most important thing is the execution of your good balls," Kishan said.
"190 is a par score here, we could have had 240 here. But 220 was a great total. We had six or seven bowlers. It showed in their batting that it was easier for them to score runs. I think in today's age, you don't have to plan much – you just need to be ahead of the game. You know which batter hits where.
"When you don't execute your balls, you have nothing – you just end up giving 10-20 runs."