Punjab Kings had broken the bank for Liam Livingstone in IPL 2022 mega auction as the Englishman was roped in for a whopping amount of INR 11.50 crores.
It is natural that the expectations are huge from a player who is brought for such a whopping price and Liam Livingstone is living up to them.
Punjab Kings didn’t get off to a great start against Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai when they were put in to bat by Ravindra Jadeja. PBKS lost two early wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Bhanuka Rajapaksha however Liam Livingstone was able to hit the ground running and took the attack against the opposition.
The right-hander timed the ball to perfection and batted at the top of his game to put the pressure back on CSK. Livingstone scored 60 runs off just 32 balls with the help of five fours and as many sixes in his fine knock.
Thus, he played a key role in helping his team post 180 runs on the board. In fact, PBKS should have scored more than 200 runs as they were 109-3 after 10 overs but veered off the track after the dismissals of Liam Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan.
Furthermore, Livingstone took two wickets and conceded 25 runs in three overs he bowled. The all-rounder, who can bowl both off-spin as well as leg-spin, dismissed Shivam Dube and Dwayne Bravo off consecutive balls.
On the other hand, Jitesh Sharma and Vaibhav Arora made their debuts for Punjab Kings and both of them impressed in their maiden match. Jitesh scored a fine cameo of 26 runs off just 17 balls and also kept well behind the stumps. Arora got the ball to swing and dismissed Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali to return with impressive figures of 2-21 in his quota of four overs.
Mayank Agarwal said in the post-match presentation, “We were thinking we were 5-7 short, but we knew chasing 180 wasn’t going to be easy, especially if we took wickets with the new ball and that’s exactly what we did. Winning that part of the game won us the game. (Told Livingstone) Nothing. Everyone holds their breath when he is batting. Some of the shots he hits are spectacular. Vaibhav was with us a couple of years back .. saw the talent there. He’s different, he’s young and has got some good skills. With Jitesh, Anil Bhai had seen him when he was in MI. He said we’ve got to get this kid. He’s got good intent. A standout thing about him is his attitude. You can see the hunger, you can see the want. Definitely looking to play hard and positive cricket. Have to be emotionally intelligent when it doesn’t come off.”
Punjab Kings have won two out of their three matches and they will look to continue the good show. PBKS will next face Gujarat Titans at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Friday.
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