It was Sehwag’s decision to promote him to the top: Wriddhiman Saha

Kings XI Punjab are still in the hunt for the playoffs after getting the better off Mumbai Indians last night. And the man who stole the show completely was wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who scored an unbeaten 93 opening the batting to help Punjab post 230 on the board.

Saha, who had in all the league games before last night batted at No.6 or 7 was sent out to open the innings and the result was for everyone to be seen. He got the opportunity to face enough balls and delivered with a fantastic attacking knock. He did nothing different, just played his natural game and that was enough to light up the Wankhede Stadium.

Viru’s master stroke

“Even while I was warming up for the match, I didn’t know that I would open the batting. After I went back to the dressing room, Viru bhai told me that I will be opening the innings,” Saha said talking about the team’s decision to promote him up the order.

The 32-year-old who plays for Bengal in the domestic circuit, and has a century in an IPL final under his belt, said that he enjoys batting at the top of the order as it gives him more room and freedom; that is what helped him in the power play overs against the Mumbai Indians.

“I like to play my shots with freedom early on in the innings, that is exactly what I did against Mumbai and eventually rotated the strike in the middle overs before attacking again,” Saha added.

He also said that coming out to bat in the middle is a little challenging since every batsman needs time to settle down. “Batting in the middle becomes a little difficult as you need to take your time to get going. Opening the batting helps you take the advantage of the power play overs,” he said.

Kings XI Punjab still have one game to go before the playoffs begin and if they win it, they may make it to the next round depending upon the results of other games and their Net Run Rate.

For Saha, missing out on the century by only 6 runs may have been disappointing, but for the team, it was a match-winning knock.