Yashasvi Jaiswal said he has the best seat in the house when his opening partner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi takes the opposition bowlers to the cleaners while he enjoys playing second fiddle to the 15-year-old batting sensation.
Chasing Punjab Kings’ target of 223, Rajasthan Royals opening duo put up a stand of 51 runs, with Sooryavanshi alone scoring 43 of it.
“It’s amazing. I enjoy batting with him (Sooryavanshi). Always happy to be at the other end,” Jaiswal, who made made 51 off 27 balls said after the match.
When asked how it feels to play a senior role while batting with Sooryavanshi, Jaiswal pointed out that at 24, he isn’t that old either.
“I am still very young. I don’t know what to say about him. We had to keep the intent. We needed a good start because we had to score more than 200,” he said.
Jaiswal highlighted the good environment in Royals’ dressing room, saying it is a happy space where there is mutual trust in each other’s abilities.
“Everyone trusts each other. We have a very good team, we focus on process. We are all enjoying a lot, a nice environment. It’s all about having fun in the middle. We have to keep the intent,” said Jaiswal.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer felt that 222 could have been defended as the pitch had something for the bowlers but execution was not perfect.
“224 (222) was a brilliant score – kudos to the batters. It was an exceptional performance on this pitch, which was tacky and slow. We fell short in our execution with the ball. They had a tremendous partnership in the middle – Ferreira and Dubey scoring those crucial runs in the end. This is the format where a lot of players have changed their game and they go from ball one. At the end of the day, I feel it is about execution,” Shreyas said.
Having won six of their first seven games with one washed out, Shreyas termed Tuesday’s defeat as one bad day in office.
“Tonight just was not our day. It is important that we stick to the things we have been doing and have been following throughout. The body was also a bit fatigued but that cannot be the reason here. We have a couple of days to go back to the drawing board and come back (stronger). This is our first loss, it definitely teaches you a lot.
“We have played games where we have chased and defended 200-plus. One of those days where it did not go our way. We would want to stay positive and be optimistic,” he said.
Royals skipper Riyan Parag took a dig at the criticism of his side’s middle-order not firing this season so far.
“Concerns were from everyone else. It was their concern, not our concern. When middle order does not fire, the top three has to pick it up. When they fail to fire (or play at a slower rate), we have to pick it up. All the worries were from the outside, not from us,” he said.
