Wasn’t too stressed about firing big shots: Punjab’s Mayank Agarwal

Punjab Kings opener Mayank Agarwal said that he wasn’t stressed about not finding his feet in the first couple of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches as he tried to stick to things that worked for him in the last season. The Kings have lost two of their first three games this season, but the Karnataka batsman found his form, scoring 69 runs in 36 balls, against the Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

The Punjab opener scored 424 runs in the last edition of the IPL in the UAE. However, in the first two matches of this season, he got out for cheap against the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings.

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But, on Sunday, the 30-year-old batsman scored a sizzling 69 run knock off 36 balls and propelled Punjab to the score of 195 against Delhi. 

In a virtual post-match conference, he said, “I wasn’t thinking too much, I planned to do and keep the mindset that worked for me last year. I thought last match I had a good ball, I didn’t want to stress too much about it and wanted to look forward and so stuck to what worked for me.” 

Talking about his practice between the nets, he said, “I was batting well in the nets, I was getting into good positions, it was about holding shape and I don’t want to live in the previous games and I am happy how I batted.”

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However, Punjab’s total was not enough to win the game against the Capitals after they won the match in just 18.2 overs. Opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 92 runs off 49 balls, adding two points in the table for DC. 

“I thought it was a good total. It wasn’t as easy in the first innings and I thought dew played a factor coming in the second innings,” Mayank said.

“I thought Delhi Capitals batted exceedingly well, also there was a dew factor. Credited to Delhi bowlers how they executed after the 12 overs, they went into death bowling and executed it beautifully,” he added. 

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When asked how can dew be countered to make it an even contest, Mayank said: “I don’t think we can do much about it as players. It boils down to execution under pressure and practising that. Those are the things which are under our control.”

Punjab will play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Wednesday.