PBKS vs DC: Shardul Thakur delighted to rise to the occasion in crunch moments - 6th over was a big one

PBKS vs DC, IPL 2022: Shardul Thakur bowled exceptionally against the Punjab Kings (PBSK) as he picked up four crucial wickets and won the Player of the Match award.

Delhi Capitals’ (DC) fast bowler Shardul Thakur was a happy man after he won the Player of the Match award against Mayank Agarwal’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday, May 16 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. Thakur leaked 36 runs in four overs at an economy rate of nine, but picked up four wickets to help the Capitals garner an all-important 17-run victory.

The speedster said that the sixth over of Punjab’s innings was crucial in the context of the game since it led to a big momentum shift. In that over, Thakur got rid of Bhanuka Rajapaksa after which he pinned Shikhar Dhawan, who was looking set on 19 with three fours.

Thakur also had words of praise for the spinners for keeping a check on the run-scoring and not allowing the Punjab batters to run away with the match.

“I always like to perform in crunch times, the last two games were important and I always feel happy when I rise on the right occasion. The 6th over was a big over where I got two wickets, they were cruising and, in both innings, fast bowlers were going for runs in the powerplay and as soon as the powerplay ended, the runs stopped. The spinners came in and did a good job,” Thakur was quoted as saying.

Thakur has had a reasonable campaign this far in IPL 2022 as he has picked up 13 wickets from as many games, although at an economy rate of 9.72.

As far as the Capitals are concerned, Rishabh Pant and Co. strengthened their chances of making it through to the playoffs. DC are currently placed fourth in the points table with a net run rate of +0.255. Their last and final league stage match is against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday, May 21 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.