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Kings XI Punjab skipper David Hussey on Tuesday praised young opener Mandeep Singh for his scintillating 45-ball 75 and described him as a future India player in all three formats of the game.
"I thought our batters set the tone, Mandeep is going from strength to strength, I think he's a future player in all three forms for India," said Hussey after Punjab notched up a comfortable 25-run win over Deccan Chargers in Uppal.
While Mandeep helped Punjab to post a challenging 170-5, it was Hussey who turned the game changer today when he dismissed set batsmen Daniel Harris (30) and Cameron White in a space of four balls in his only over.
"We have two better spinners than me in the team, so more than happy with that. We haven't played too well at home, but we hope to win the reverse fixture," he said.
Chasing a stiff 171, Deccan were restricted to 145 for eight but skipper Kumar Sangakkara blamed his bowlers for not bowling in the right areas in the first four overs and allowing Punjab to post a big total.
"I thought the difference today was the bowling in the first four overs. It was a two-paced wicket and we bowled too short on a wicket that still had something in it for the bowlers. Kings XI showed us how to bowl and where to bowl," Sangakkara said.
"Mandeep batted well and capitalised on the mistakes we made. It is a case of getting our basic right. In T20, you need to limit the opposition score to probably 150. We did pull things a bit but the first 12 overs cost the match," he added.
Man of the Match, Mandeep Singh said he was very satisfied with his innings.
"Hussey has supported us a lot, he has shown a lot of faith in me. I'm really satisfied today, as from the beginning of the tournament I wanted to stay till the 15th over, and I today for the team," Mandeep said.
"I wanted to bat normally and in the end it was good. We have to keep winning and we have to do our basics right and hopefully we will win rest of the games," he added.