After showing so much promise in the first two games of the season, Kings XI Punjab have started to show the form that made them finish the last two seasons at the bottom of the table. Under their new skipper Glenn Maxwell, the runners-up of 2014 season began the season with two wins over Rising Pune Supergiant and Royal Challengers Bangalore but they have failed to sustain the momentum thereafter.
They suffered a heavy 8-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders and their fortunes did not improve against Delhi Daredevils too. On Saturday (April 15), Glenn Maxwell suffered a 51-run thrashing at the hands of the Daredevils and their skipper Maxwell admitted his team failed to cash in on the limited opportunities.
The visitors had the chance to restrict Delhi to a low total when they were reduced to 120 for 5 in the 16th over but they conceded 57 runs in the last 4 fours to let Delhi post a massive 188. In reply, KXIP’s batting came a cropper as they finished their innings on 137 for 9.
“I thought we let the opportunities slip the whole way through the game. If you drop the first ball of the game, that probably sets the tone… They weren’t straightforward chances but in T20 cricket the half chances need to be taken. You need to make the most of those opportunities, they don’t come pretty often,” Maxwell said at the post-match presser.
“Especially when Delhi chose to bat first, we had to make sure we take every opportunity. We let guys get away and we let the batters play easy shots and get the marks and get into their innings where they didn’t let us come back. They made us play which, I suppose, is a little bit frustrating because probably one of the advantages is making the opposition make the first mistake. We did that in the first couple of games (but) unfortunately tonight, when we started to build a little pressure to get a wicket, there would be a legside boundary or something off the pads or a wide ball or something else that would just completely upset the way we are trying to go. It is a little bit frustrating because we know we have got the skills there and the guys have shown they are good enough to play, they have dominated at different times but at the moment, it is just not happening,” he added.
When asked about the reason to send Eoin Morgan ahead of him, Maxwell said:
“Having Morgan, who has been over here recently and plays these conditions quite well, I thought, might be a good option to go up at the top. Obviously, it did not pay off the way I would have liked.”
“I would have liked to have some wickets in hand for the last eight or nine overs but we kept losing wickets consistently. If you have Miller and Maxwell at the backend and 11 to get per over we still have a massive chance, but when (the asking rate) gets to 13-an-over, and its 14 overs left to go, the game is long gone,” he added.
The skipper also came out in the defence of his bowlers.
“It is not about the quality of our bowling, it is about bad execution on the day. Last two games we haven’t executed our plans, it’s as simple as that. It is probably going to get to the point where I am going to start picking uncapped players who are willing to execute and back their plans. At the moment, that is not happening,”Maxwell said.