Another Indian Premier League (IPL) game and yet another close contest; this edition has offered some enticing fixtures. Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin did say that the 13-run loss isn’t too bad a thing as they will get a seven-day break to re-group.
However, somewhere deep inside he is well aware of the fact that his side should have sealed the contest against hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Uncapped pacer Ankit Rajpoot did everything right and was set to receive yet another Man of the Match trophy but the chase didn’t go as per plan.
Manish Pandey played a scratchy yet vital knock of 54 off 51 balls while Shakib Al Hasan made 28 off 29 deliveries.
Ashwin was clearly not impressed by the way his batters went about business.
Punjab openers- Chris Gayle and KL Rahul provided a solid 55-run start but the innings faltered mid-way.
“From where we were, we should have put this game away. It’s disappointing. It was not the greatest of wickets, the ball stuck in it,” said Ashwin.
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Ashwin on KXIP’s defeat:
Regarding the low-scoring defeat, the all-rounder said that such games are a part of Twenty20 cricket. Shedding light on the missed opportunities, Ashwin said it hurt them badly as they could have saved some runs.
“It can happen in this format, we’ve been on a roll, but these kinds of things happen. We let ourselves down in the field as well, we could have been chasing 20-25 runs. Always difficult to catch under lights, but there are no excuses.” he added.
Ravichandran Ashwin on Rashid’s spell:
He also credited Afghan sensation Rashid Khan, who scalped three wickets in his spell of four overs.
“We are professionals, we have to work harder to get back in. Seven days off, looking at the loss, it’s probably a good thing. Rashid bowled very well, you have to expect it from him and on a wicket like this, he is a handful” Ashwin said.
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