IPL 2021: “Aiden Markram’s six off Narine came at a crucial point for Punjab”- Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Aiden Markram’s six off Sunil Narine in the 16th over of Punjab’s innings was the turning point in the game last night. It came during their run-chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday night.

Needing a further 45 runs to win off the last 30 balls, captain Eoin Morgan decided to bring his ace spinner Narine to bowl the 16th over. While the West Indian did manage to dismiss Markram, it came after the batsman smoked him for a six over midwicket.

Markram tried to do an encore on the next delivery as he slapped a wide, short delivery to deep extra-cover but proceeded to find the fielder to perfection.

Speaking at ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that Markram’s six tilted the balance of the game in Punjab’s favor.

“There were plenty of turning points in the game; umpiring decisions on Tripathi’s catch, Venkatesh Iyer’s catch that fell on the boundary. But, the turning point for me came when Sunil Narine bowled his 4th over. That over was very crucial as Narine has potential to give just 4-5 runs and claim a wicket. Aiden Markram did not play a big knock but his six off Narine came at a crucial point for Punjab,” said Manjrekar.

Punjab Kings threatened to once again choke under pressure as KL Rahul holed out in the deep in the last over of the innings. Ultimately, it was Shah Rukh Khan’s whirlwind unbeaten 9-ball 22 which sealed the deal for Punjab.

‘Varun Chakravarthy has a similar role to Deepak Chahar or Trent Boult’- Sanjay Manjrekar

Captain Morgan introduced mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the powerplay and proceeded to bowl him out in the 11th over of the innings.

The leg-spinner notched up a couple of prized scalps in the form of Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran at the expense of just 24 runs.

When asked about Morgan’s thought-process in bowling out Chakravarthy so early in the innings, Manjrekar said-

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“Varun Chakravarthy has a similar role to Deepak Chahar or Trent Boult: pick wickets in the powerplay. Morgan used him upfront because maybe Varun isn’t comfortable while bowling at the backend. Mayank Agarwal is brilliant against spinners but Chakravarthy still did a decent job by taking two wickets.’’

Thanks to a scrappy five-wicket win, Punjab have kept their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive. They will now lock horns with Virat Kohli’s RCB in Sharjah on Sunday.