IPL 2022: "If we had won, these questions wouldn't have been raised" - Arshdeep Singh plays down Odean Smith's overthrow vs GT
Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Arshdeep Singh staunchly defended his teammates and skipper Mayank Agarwal after their dramatic last-ball defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium on Friday.
With GT requiring 13 runs to win off the last three balls, PBKS all-rounder Odean Smith bowled a brilliant dot-ball. But he then conceded a single via an unnecessary missed throw at the non-striker's end.
This allowed GT's Rahul Tewatia to get on strike, who then hit back-to-back sixes to snatch the win from the jaws of defeat.
Asked about the impact of that moment in the post-match press conference, Arshdeep Singh refused to single it out. He said the team will "briefly" review its mistakes on Saturday.
He also went on to say that "these questions" are only asked in defeats and that the queries would have been different had PBKS won. His exact words were:
"Paaji (brother), if we look behind, there will be a lot of things like that. But we don't think about those things on matchday. We'll briefly look at our mistakes and what we did good tomorrow. I guess these questions are only raised due to the result. If we had won, these questions wouldn't have been raised."
Speaking about the emotions on the field during the last two balls, Arshdeep Singh stated that "it was nothing special." He claimed that the team has got used to such situations in the last 2-3 years. The 23-year-old said:
"Paaji, the emotions have stabilized now because in the last two-three years with Punjab Kings or Kings XI Punjab there have been a lot of these exciting last-ball, last-over thrillers. So it was nothing special. Whatever the situation, we try to be stable, whether we win or lose we try to keep the team environment stable and enjoy our cricket."
Although their emotions might be stable for now, a loss like this will certainly pinch PBKS and especially Arshdeep Singh.
Waah Lord Tewatia,....
Need his statue in Punjab Kings dugout.
What a brainfade by Smith to concede a overthrow with 13 needed of 2. #PBKSvGT
The match wasn't supposed to go this close when GT were cruising at 133-1 after almost 15 overs.
But a couple of wickets revived the pressure on the chasing side. This was taken to it's peak by the Punjab pacer who conceded just five runs against a well-set Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya in the 18th over.
"We can't judge that decision based on the result" - Arshdeep Singh on Odean Smith getting the last over
💔 https://t.co/OJwmxlYTlp
A reporter suggested to Arshdeep Singh that perhaps things would have been different had Smith bowled the 18th and he the 20th over. Arshdeep's response was to assert that decisions like that can't be made on conjectures.
The Punjab Kings seamer stated that, considering the moment, the team's call was "absolutely correct" and can't be judged based on the eventual result.
"Paaji, your question had 'perhaps' in it so 'perhaps if I had bowled...', 'perhaps if I had not bowled...' then anything could've happened. I guess the decision taken at that time was absolutely correct. We can't judge that decision based on the result. We did what felt right in that moment."
PBKS slipped a place after their defeat to now sit at sixth position in the points table. They will now play against Mumbai Indians on April 13.