‘Want to focus on results and win matches’ – Rilee Rossouw after win against CSK

Punjab Kings. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Punjab Kings continued their upward trajectory in the Indian Premier League 2024 on May 1, picking up a dominant win over the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. With a controlled bowling performance from the spinners Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar on a slow, turning track, Punjab restricted the hosts to 162/7 in 20 overs and managed to chase down the target in just 17.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Speaking after the match, Punjab Kings batter Rilee Rossouw praised Chahar and Brar who both picked up two wickets each on the night and maintained an economy rate of under five. 

“Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar have been phenomenal. They have been coming in good form for us. Chahar is bowling well. Brar has been consistent. They are keeping it simple, and keeping it wicket-to-wicket, and always being in play, whether the ball is turning or not, to give them a wicket. They have been phenomenal for us, especially, economy-wise,” Rossouw said at the post-match press conference.

The South African international also praised the stand-in captain Sam Curran for his decision to give the penultimate over to leg-spinner Chahar. In a crucial moment, Chahar gave away just three runs and picked a wicket.

“I have to give credit to Sam Curran who came to me and checked what I think about using a leg-spinner in the second last over. And he took the gamble, it was his gut feeling and it came off beautifully well. It was a brave decision and not something we see in cricket nowadays. Also, Chahar stepped up well and bowled that over fantastically well. That is how our game has evolved. On a slow-turning wicket, it was a good call,” he said.

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Curran, speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, further detailed his strategies on why he decided to use Chahar against MS Dhoni in the death overs. 

“We wanted to try something different by trying Rabada in the powerplay. We wanted to use our spinners later on. Chahar was the best bowler in the last game, and he’s bowling with great confidence. He stepped up when I asked him to bowl against MS Dhoni in the 19th over. The fast bowlers were going for a bit in the end, and I wanted to try something different. In this game where everyone has been going for runs, you need to take such gambles. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t,” Curran said.

On being asked about what went right for his side on the night, Rossouw said that his side adapted to the conditions better on the night. “It was not the surfaces in IPL. It takes different types of skills to play on these kinds of wickets. You do not get flat surfaces every day and you have to adapt to them. Tonight, Punjab Kings adapted better than Chennai.”

Rossouw scored 43 off 23 on the night at a strike rate of 186.96. The 34-year-old said he was disappointed about not being able to score a fifty but was happy that he was able to contribute to his side and will hope to continue the same at all times.

“I was happy to score runs for the team and put in a very good performance. But I was upset I could not cross the line for a fifty. But that is the beauty of cricket, you cannot control everything. Right now, my focus is on winning every IPL game and making an impact for Punjab Kings,” he said.

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Punjab Kings will next travel to Dharamsala where they will once again face off against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. Roussouw said that his side will remain focused on one game at a time and will not plan too far ahead. 

“We just have to take one game at a time. We will head to Dharamsala where the wickets will be harder and flat. Anyone can beat anyone in IPL and that is the beauty of the competition. You have to be on top of your game every second ball. We still have four games and we want to focus on the next game. We will focus on our energy in Dharamsala. We want to focus on our results,” he signed off.