Adam Gilchrist hailed the composure of Paul Valthaty who inspired Kings XI Punjab to a second consecutive win in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The previously unheralded batsman from Mumbai followed up his century on Wednesday with four wickets and a 47-ball 75 yesterday as Kings XI thumped Deccan Chargers, Gilchrist's former team, by eight wickets.
"He is a very calm customer," Gilchrist said. "He has a had a very busy couple of days with messages and all, but he has dealt with it very well."
Gilchrist and Valthaty shared a 136-run stand at the top of the order as Kings XI successfully chased down a target of 166 with 14 balls to spare.
"We complemented each other very well through phases," Gilchrist said. "I was giving him the strike early on, and later he did the same. It was a tough chase. If you play as well as Paul did, you end up winning easier."
Valthaty's innings moved him to joint first position with Sachin Tendulkar as the leader run-getter in the tournament.
"To be on par with the god of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, is great," Valthaty said.
"It was important that I forgot my previous innings as this was a new game and a new day. I'm happy that I did it. My family and friends helped me out. Adam spoke to me as well."
Valthaty's figures of four for 29 helped restrict Chargers to 165 for eight after Kumar Sangakkara, the captain, and Shikhar Dhawan had grabbed the initiative with their 75-run stand.
In reply, Amith Mishra gave Deccan slight hope by dismissing Valthaty and Gilchrist but the damage to Deccan's chances was irreversible and Punjab eased home with 2.2 overs left thanks to Abhishek Nayar and Dinesh Karthik.
