Following his side’s four-wicket loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Devon Conway said that he has been working with Mike Hussey, the batting coach of the franchise and enjoys batting with his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Hard-hitting knocks from Prabhsimran Singh and Liam Livingstone powered Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
“As I said at the innings break, we felt that it is a bit slow when you hit the wicket but to be fair it was a good wicket. We felt that 200 was a very competitive score. Disappointed that we lost that one. It is never easy. It is about keeping things simple, sticking to my process and not to complicate things. In T20s it can be up and down. I try to work as close as I can with Mike Hussey who is very experienced not only for Australia but also for CSK, he has played a lot of cricket here, along with the other players. I enjoy batting with Ruturaj and Ajinkya has got a lot of experience. When you build partnerships, it helps,” said Conway in a post-match presentation.
In nine matches so far, Conway has scored 414 runs at an average of 59.14 and a strike rate of 144.25. He has scored five fifties so far, with best score of 92*. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament so far.
Electing to bat first, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted 200/4 in their 20 overs. An 86-run stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad (37 in 31 balls) and Devon Conway laid the foundation for a huge score. Cameos came from Shivam Dube (28 in 17 balls), skipper MS Dhoni (13* in four balls).
Conway stayed unbeaten till the end, scoring 92* in 52 balls, with 16 fours and a six.
Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar and Sikandar Raza got a wicket each.
In the chase of 201, Punjab Kings started off well with a fifty-run stand between skipper Shikhar Dhawan (28 in 15 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 in 24 balls). Another half-century stand followed between Liam Livingstone (40 in 24 balls) and Sam Curran (29 in 20 balls), which kept the game alive for PBKS.
However, after their dismissal, CSK threatened to win the game. But Jitesh Sharma (21 in 10 balls) and Sikandar Raza (14* in seven balls) did just enough to clinch a final ball four-wicket win.
Tushar Deshpande was the pick of the bowlers for CSK, with 3/49 in four overs. Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets while Pathirana got one wicket.
Conway was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award. (ANI)
