IPL 2022 | 'Arshdeep has been the best death bowler' Kagiso Rabada

Punjab Kings (PBKS) finally returned to winning ways as they defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a narrow margin of 11 runs on Monday. Batting first, PBKS posted a challenging total of 187 runs for the loss of four wickets courtesy of a brilliant 59-ball-88 by Shikhar Dhawan. They later went on to defend it, thanks to some sharp death bowling spells from Arshdeep Singh (4-0-23-1) and Kagiso Rabada (4-0-23-2). 

In the post-match press conference, Rabada acknowledged Arshdeep's enthusiasm and highly applauded his death bowling skills. He even opined that the Punjab seamer has been the best in business in the slog overs in IPL 2022. 

"I think Arsh has been the best death bowler in this comp. That's what the stats say", Rabada said. "He's a youngster coming in. He's got a lot of drive, a lot of ambition and he's got talent as well. And he's just a good bloke. So it's nice to have him around", the Johannesburg-born further added. 

The experienced proteas seamer also praised the valiant efforts of their top three for giving a solid platform to the middle order batters, who later capitalised on that and ensured Punjab of a winning total. 

"In the Powerplay, we were a bit behind the rate, but I must commend Shikhar and Mayank the way they held their nerve, and then the way Shikhar and Bhanu played was just unbelievable", Rabada said. "They set the platform for our batters to come in and play freely and then Liam Livingstone came in and hit a few gentle strokes out of the park and that set us up nicely", the 26-year-old concluded. 

After the much-needed victory, the PBKS captain Mayank Agarwal insisted on making the opponent batters play towards the longer side of the ground as it creates chances for their bowlers. He also stressed on keeping the momentum and winning two-three on the trot. 

"As a team, we have to think about being smart. You want your opposition to play towards the longer side as much as they can", Mayank said. "It is important to carry the momentum. We have won one, but we need to win two or three on the bounce", the opener added. 

With this victory, PBKS have moved up to the sixth spot and will lock horns with LSG in their next game on Friday (29 April).