IPL 2023: Sam Curran heaps praise on 'incredible' Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis after PBKS defeat MI

Apr 23, 2023 - 04:30

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IPL 2023: Sam Curran heaps praise on 'incredible' Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis after PBKS defeat MI

Punjab Kings (PBKS) stand-in skipper Sam Curran felt he didn’t deserve the Player of the Match award after leading his side to victory in a high-scoring thriller against Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2023 on Saturday.

The England all-rounder, leading Punjab in placed of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, smashed a whirlwind 59 off just 26 deliveries and forged a game-changing 92-run partnership with Harpreet Bhatia (41 off 28) as Punjab Kings recovered from a mini-collapse in the middle overs to post a massive 214/8 on the board after being invited to bat by MI.

Had it not been for Arshdeep Singh’s death-bowling heroics though, Curran and the rest of the Punjab middle-order’s spirited fightback might have gone in vain. The left-arm pacer collected three wickets for just 11 runs in the last two overs to finish with a haul of 4/29 as Mumbai ultimately fell 13 runs short despite blazing fifties from Cameron Green (67) and Suryakumar Yadav (57).

“Don’t think I should be getting the award, with the way our pacers finished the match, Arshdeep and Nathan (Ellis) were incredible and the spinners bowled well,” Curran said in the post-match presentation ceremony, also praising Nathan Ellis after the Australian pacer bagged the wicket of a well-set Green.

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep, who has been a relevation for India as well as for Punjab Kings in the powerplay as well as death overs, revealed shortening his run-up to death with the recurrent no-ball problem while adding that he had managed to keep his nerves under check during the tense finish.

“Right now I feel even happier as the team won. I have shortened my run-up as it helped me with the no-ball problem and I am enjoying my cricket at the moment.

“Calmness comes naturally, my heart rate doesn’t even go up to 120,” the 24-year-old said in the post-match chat with the broadcasters.