IPL 2022: Umran Malik and Washington Sundar were my matchups, reveals Punjab Kings batter Liam Livingstone

England and Punjab Kings all-rounder Liam Livingstone ended he IPL 2022 season with a high, smashing 49 off 22 balls as he guided PBKS to a five-wicket win with 29 balls to spare against Sunrisers Hyderabad and helped them finish on 6th place on the Points Table. Livingstone ended up as the second-highest six-hitter after the IPL 2022 league stage, behind Jos Buttler, with 34 sixes – including five in the match against SRH.

“It was nice. I felt like I was hitting the ball well throughout the tournament. The way we played today was perfect – attacking as well as being smart. It’s been a long two and a half months, it would be good to be away,” Livingstone said in the post-match press conference.

“I am a big believer in matchups and I knew Umran (Malik) and Washy (Washington Sundar) were my matchups. I tried to play left-handers well. I don’t think I have ever hit a left-arm spinner over extra cover. We needed just over a run a ball, so didn’t need to go all guns blazing,” Livingstone revealed.

1000th SIX OF #IPL2022

Fittingly, it comes from the bat of Liam Livingstone #SaddaPunjab #IPL2022 #PunjabKings #SRHvPBKS #saaddaapjaab @liaml4893 pic.twitter.com/uw8azbADhi

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 22, 2022

Livingstone finished with 437 runs from 14 matches in IPL 2022, in sixth position on the Orange Cap list. Shikhar Dhawan was the highest run-getter for PBKS with 460 runs from 14 matches, after scoring 39 against SRH in the last game and is currently 4th in the run-scorer’s list.

“I needed to work out the game and decide how hard to go. It’s nice to prove a few people wrong. I had a few comments after last year’s IPL. I am still learning and developing. It’s about gaining the experience and be a better player,” Livingstone said.

“Bowling does not come naturally to me. I enjoy the challenge and would have liked to bowl more in the tournament. But the way you want to play T20 is to affect each of the three aspects,” he added.