IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiant Deserved To Be In The Qualifiers, Says Yuvraj Singh 1

Former Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh has sympathised with his former team after their IPL season came to a disappointing end following a thumping 9-wicket loss against Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday (May 14).

After a poor start to the season, that saw them winning just three games in the first half of the season, Kings XI Punjab made a remarkable turnaround as they clawed their way back into the race of playoffs race with 4 wins in the next 6 games. The brilliant run gave them a realistic chance of making it to the last four as they needed to win their final game against Rising Pune Supergiant, who were also in need of a win to make it to the next stage.

However, the Steve Smith-led side dominated the game thoroughly and not only qualified for the playoffs but also finished the league stage at the second place and will now have two shots to make it to the final.

After being asked to bat first, the Kings XI, who had come into the match after scoring 230 against Mumbai Indians, began disastrously as Martin Guptill departed for a golden duck. Within no time, the Punjab-based outfit found themselves in a spot of bother as all of their foreign recruits- Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Shaun Marsh and captain Glenn Maxwell returned to the hut with only 32 runs on the board. Marsh was the top-scorer among them with 10, Morgan scored 4 while Guptill and Maxwell even failed to open their account.

Axar Patel (22) provided a bit of resistance but the Kings XI never recovered from those early setbacks and were eventually bowled out for 73- their lowest total in the IPL.

In reply, the Supergiant chased down the total with utmost ease. Ajinkya Rahane and Rahul Tripathi added 41 runs for the first wicket before the latter was dismissed for 28. Rahane and Steve Smith then shared an unbeaten partnership of 37 runs as their team romped home with 8 overs remaining.

Sunrisers Hyderabad star Yuvraj Singh, meanwhile, took to Twitter after the match to wish hard luck to his former team and at the same conceded that the Supergiant deserved to be in the qualifiers.

“Hard luck @lionsdenkxip feel for@realpreityzinta @virendersehwag and squad pune deserved to be in qualifiers well this travelling is just???,” the southpaw tweeted.