IPL 2022 | 'We just needed to have that belief' - Odean Smith after the win

The new edition of the Indian Premier League has started with a bang where Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their tournament opener despite scoring 205 runs in 20 overs. Faf du Plessis smashed 88 runs, whereas Virat Kohli hit 41* and Dinesh Karthik scored an unbeaten 32 to guide the team to a huge total.

While chasing, Punjab Kings got off to a flying start, with Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan stitching 71 tuns within 8 overs. However, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 43, Odean Smith's 8-ball 25 sealed the deal for his side.

Meanwhile, his heroics earned him the 'Man of the Match' award. 

After the game, Smith said, "We were stressing on having a good start. We just needed to have that belief. Didn't go so well with the bowling. I need to work on a few things. Batting was good as I helped my team to win. It was all about execution, and I couldn't, and that's why it went haywire. Punjab hasn't won the title so far, but we need to have the belief. We watched '14 peaks'; 13 remain for us."

On the other hand, newly-appointed Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal was happy after winning the game. He also applauded the players for winning the match.

He said, "Two points for us is crucial. Good wicket. Very good wicket as both sides scored 200 plus. One or two balls held up, but nothing apart from that. Credit to the way we finished. We took the right chances, and I am glad it came off. I think we gave them 15-20 more. Virat and Faf took the game away from us, but credit to our batters to chase this down. We trust our skills. It doesn't come off, it doesn't come off, but we are not going to panic and make a scene out of it."

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who played a crucial knock, was jubilant after the win, "What we thought was that we'd have a free hit. Shikhar wanted me to be aggressive, although I had just come out to the middle. I knew how Hasaranga bowls. It was about knowing him and playing him for the last 4-5 years. 

I bought my local knowledge, and it worked. This win is a huge confidence booster. We watched this movie called '14 Peaks', and we have 14 games. Every game is a batter's game. The credit should go to the bowlers to restrict them to 200. But in the middle-overs, we gave away around 130 runs in the last 8-9 overs. But I am sure the bowlers will come up with better plans in the future."

Punjab Kings will next play against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 1.