'He rallies around everyone, takes up the responsibility, even goes up and speaks to the bowlers sometimes.'
Captain Mayank Agarwal hailed pacer Arshdeep Singh as the "leader in the team" after Punjab Kings demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore by 54 runs in the IPL match, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, on Friday.
Arshdeep took just one wicket but finished with a superb economy of 6.80 in his four-over spell, after figures of 1 for 27.
He snuffed out Dinesh Karthik (11) with a wide yorker, having him caught at short third man, and RCB's challenge fizzled out.
"Very, very energetic person, very confident guy (Arshdeep). Enjoys his cricket. Must say he's the leader in the team.
"He rallies around everyone, takes up the responsibility, even goes up and speaks to the bowlers sometimes," said Agarwal after the victory which kept the Punjab Kings in the reckoning for a berth in the play-offs.
Whirlwind knocks from Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone guided the Punjab Kings to a mammoth total of 209 before they restricted the Royal Challengers to155 for 9.
"We were brilliant with the bat. Wicket was holding up a bit. The way Jonny and Livi batted, was amazing. We haven't changed a lot, to be honest; just about understanding few situations, understanding the wicket," said Agarwal.
"Have to be adaptable and flexible, which we have been, which is nice. Can't be too defensive with the ball. If batsmen get going, it doesn't matter, the boundaries don't matter these days.
"Two points the most crucial thing for us. As long as the job gets done, I'm fine batting at five," he added.
Following Friday's defeat, RCB have 14 points from 13 matches. They have just one match left, against Gujarat Titans, the top team of the tournament, on May 19.
Punjab Kings have 12 points from 12 matches.
The margin of victory considerably improved Punjab Kings' net run-rate to +0.023. RCB, despite having 14 points from 13 games, have a NRR of -0.323.
RCB will have to win their final game and hope the other results go their way to advance.
