I think credit should go to pacers, says Sam Curran after PBKS beat MI

MUMBAI: Punjab Kings stand-in skipper Sam Curran said he didn't think that he should be getting the Player of the Match award and it should have instead gone to his bowlers, especially Arshdeep Singh, for the way they kept their nerves as they beat Mumbai Indians by 13 runs in Match 31 in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, here on Saturday.

Curran helped Punjab Kings come back from 83/4 at the halfway stage, struck a brilliant half-century (55 off 29 balls) and with Harpreet Singh Bhatia (41 off 28) and Jitesh Sharma (25 off 7) contributing handsomely, Punjab Kings scored 109 runs in the last six overs to reach a massive score of 214/8 in 20 overs.

Mumbai set up a good chase. Skipper Rohit Sharma scored 44 and with Cameron Green (67) and Suryakumar Yadav (57) in the middle, Mumbai Indians looked on course for victory. But Arshdeep Singh got Suryakumar Yadav out with a superb delivery and then claimed two wickets off successive deliveries in the final over as he defended 15 runs.

Punjab skipper Curran said it was a special win made possible by his bowlers.

"Special win. Amazing ground played many games with different sides. Great to get the win. Don't think I should be getting the award, with the way our pacers finished the match, Arshdeep and Nathan were incredible and the spinners bowled well," Curran said during the post-match presentation on Saturday.

Curran said he waited for the right time to explode into action when batting as he felt he had done that too early in the previous matches.

"When I went in to bat, I knew I had to give myself a chance. In the previous games, I've looked to go big a little too early and reflected on that. But we got a long line-up and we saw Jitesh went bang-bang and we know he's got that. He's a massive player and we just have to take our responsibility as players come back from injuries," he said.

The 24-year-old England allrounder, who is leading the side in the absence of injured regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan, said it was a great experience for him.

"Two from three, I think we can go back to Shikhar. Great experience, the coaches and the local guys are helping me through. (Coach Trevor) Bayliss, Haddin and Co have created a good, relaxed environment. We've won a few early games which helps," said Curran.