Chennai: After scoring match-winning runs off the final delivery, Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Sikandar Raza revealed that he just wanted to run well if he didn’t get the boundary off the last ball to seal the victory.
PBKS beat CSK by four wickets in a last-ball thriller at Chepauk Stadium to register their fifth win of the season as Raza ran three off the final delivery to seal the victory.
When PBKS needed 9 runs off the final over, six came off the first five balls before Raza managed to get the winning runs off the final delivery, that too without hitting a boundary and ensuring a victory for his side.
Speaking after the game, the all-rounder said coming from a Zimbabwean culture, he emphasizes winning rather than individual performances.
“Every time you win a match for your team it’s a good feeling. Coming from the Zimbabwe culture, we put more emphasis on winning rather than individual performances,” said Raza.
He also mentioned a conversation that occurred among the PBKS team before the final delivery, where they required three runs to emerge victorious. He said the team may have considered substituting one of the batters with a better runner for the last ball to improve their chances of scoring the winning run.
“I was just looking at a lot of arms being raised in the dressing room. Maybe it was about retiring one of the guys. We said we were one boundary away from run-a-ball (in the final over), and if we can’t get that, we’ll run well,” he added.
Raza further reckoned that Livingstone change the momentum of the game in the 16th over when he hammered Tushar Deshpande for two consecutive sixes, followed by a boundary and another maximum to take 24 runs off the over.
“That over where Livi (Livingstone) took charge and took 20 off one over, changed momentum. When I went, I just wanted to run as hard as I can. I was trying to hit a six but wasn’t succeeding,” he concluded.
(IANS)
