"His innings became the perfect template...": Manjrekar on Nair's winning knock for DC

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 25 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar hailed Karun Nair and KL Rahul for their performances, calling the former's innings a "perfect template" for anchoring and controlling a run-chase and lauding KL for playing a "shorter, impactful" knock which got his team close to the target.
Delhi Capitals ended their season on a high with a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a high-scoring clash at Jaipur on Saturday. In a run-chase of 207 runs, KL's 21-ball 35 and Karun's 27-ball 44 set up a nice platform for Sameer Rizwi, who scored an explosive 58* in 25 balls.
Speaking on 'Match Centre Live' on JioHotstar, JioStar expert Sanjay said about Nair's knock, "Karun Nair's knock was impressive -- very similar to how he started the season with that 89. He got going right away. Before hitting those sixes, he had a couple of sighters, and then he went after Harpreet Brar, who I thought was a key part of Punjab's bowling attack. The sweep, the cut -- he executed them beautifully. When one of your two reliable bowlers gets taken apart, it puts immense pressure on the rest. (Marcus) Stoinis had to step in, (Azmatullah) Omarzai too."
Manjrekar was also puzzled why PBKS did not have the lanky South African pacer Marco Jansen bowl with the new ball or at death.
"Stoinis ended up bowling the 20th over, Arshdeep (Singh) went for runs in the 16th and 19th, and Omarzai was expensive earlier. It was not the strongest bowling attack overall, and Karun Nair capitalised. When you look at the scorecard, his innings became the perfect template for how to anchor and control a chase," he added.
Speaking on KL's knock, Manjekar said that it was different from his usual knock since he mostly takes it upon himself to take the game deep.
"But in today's chase, they got to 200 without anyone scoring big -- and that is what T20 cricket is about. It is about having that mindset of getting the team closer to the target, even if it means shorter impactful innings. Gujarat Titans do that well, but their Achilles heel remains performing under play-off pressure. Teams that have tested their batting depth are better prepared to handle any unforeseen crisis," he added.
Coming to the match, DC won the toss and opted to bowl first. Half-century from skipper Shreyas Iyer (53 in 34 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a quickfire cameo from Marcus Stoinis (44* in 16 balls, with three fours and four sixes) guided PBKS to 206/8.
Mustafizur Rahman (3/33) and spinners Vipraj Nigam (2/38) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/39) excelled with the ball for DC.
In the chase, DC started well with a 55-run stand between Rahul (35 in 21 balls, with six fours and a six) and Faf Du Plessis (23 in 15 balls, with two fours and a six). Nair (44 in 27 balls, with five fours and two sixes) paired up with Sameer (58* in 25 balls, with three fours and five sixes) to lay down the foundation for a perfect finish. While Nair and Sameer put on a 62-run stand, Sameer and Tristan Stubbs (18*) also put on a 53-run stand to win the game with three balls left.
Sameer got the 'Player of the Match' award. DC ended the season with seven wins, six losses and a no result, giving them 15 points. PBKS are at second spot, with eight wins, four losses and a no result, giving them 17 points. (ANI)