"You knew that the batter was going to go leg side" - Simon Doull on Arshdeep Singh's attempted yorker on last ball of KKR vs PBKS clash

Simon Doull believes that Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Arshdeep Singh erred tactically by going for the leg stump yorker on the final ball of the team's IPL 2023 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Monday, May 8.

With two runs required off the last ball, Arshdeep backed himself to bowl the yorker. However, he missed his mark and ended up bowling a full toss. Rinku Singh, who had made some room, flicked it for four to win the game for his team.

Doull pointed out that the left-arm seamer had stuck to the same plan against Rinku in the over and opined that Arshdeep should have gone for the wide yorker, as the batter was expecting him to bowl at the stumps.

Speaking to Crizbuzz after the match, the former New Zealand pacer explained:

"It is not Arshdeep's [Singh] fault. That Sam Curran's over cost them the game. Arshdeep had nothing to defend, no issue with him. He just missed that last ball. I think the last ball, because he kept forcing the yorkers in that leg stump, you knew that the batter was going to go leg side and look for room. That is when you go the bluff.

"That is when you go wide of off, really wide, tram lines full. If he goes there, he misses it. Can't reach it from where Rinku has gone. He has already set him up, angling into the leg stump. So he knows what he is going to try to do, then the bluff."

Kolkata chased down the tricky 180-run target to clinch a crucial five-wicket win. Arshdeep didn't have much to defend, considering that KKR needed just six runs off the last over.

The match slipped out of PBKS' hands after Sam Curran conceded 20 runs on the penultimate over, leaving very little for Arshdeep.

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"The game was done after the ₹18.5 core man went for ₹20.5 crore in the 19th over" - Simon Doull on Sam Curran

Simon Doull further stated that Arshdeep Singh wasn't the one to be blamed for the loss. He noted that PBKS were out of the game after Sam Curran bowled a costly 19th over.

He, however, suggested that Arshdeep should have walked to the skipper and told him that he wanted to go ahead with a different plan, adding:

"He [Arshdeep Singh] went for the bluff early against Russell. He got picked off. He went for it too early. It is clarity of mind. It is going to your captain and saying, 'This is what I want to do'. But in all fairness, the game was done after the ₹18.5 core man [Sam Curran] went for ₹20.5 crore in the 19th over."

With five wins and six losses to their name at this stage, PBKS are currently placed seventh in the IPL 2023 points table. KKR, on the other hand, climbed to the fifth spot following the victory.