Punjab Kings [PBKS] had to settle with just one point despite scoring 201 on a slow pitch as late-evening thunders showers washed out the chase in Kolkata. They will be disappointed for they had done the hard work on a pitch whose consensus reading was “very, very slow”. The one point moved PBKS to No. 4 on the points table while the lagging Kolkata Knight Riders rose to No. 7 with seven points from nine matches.

Outside the frustration of not getting the win, PBKS will be pleased with their openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimrn Singhe, whose half-centuries took them to the daunting total in tough conditions. Especially how they scored the runs. They were almost obsessed with not over-hitting, holding their shape and relying more on their timing, adding 120 for the first wicket, PBKS’ only century stand this IPL. Arya scored 69 off 35, Prabhsimran 83 off 49, and even though the last six overs produced only 42, PBKS were confident they had scored an above-par total.

On the slow track with grip available for those bowling into the pitch, PBKS took 74 off the eight overs of spin between Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. Even Harshit Rana, KKR’s slower-ball specialist, was allowed to bowl only two overs for 27 runs.

Arya, in particular, was clever in his targeting of the bowlers. He took 50 off 20 balls of pace, and just 19 off 15 balls of spin. Prabhsimran took the spinners on, taking 41 off 22 balls bowled by them. Both of them were measured in the first couple of overs, getting used to the pace in the pitch, before targeting the pace bowlers. Arya preferred timing – his first four fours were driven between mid-off and cover – and Prabshimran struggled early, getting to only 34 off 32 at one point.

[Cricinfo]