Ashwin bemoans batting collapse
HYDERABAD: Chasing a 133-run target seems easy on most days in IPL.
Kings XI Punjab must have thought the same against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, especially with Chris Gayle and KL Rahul scoring 55 in the first eight overs.
But what happened after that has left King XI’S middle order with serious questions. As Rahul was scalped by Rashid Khan and Gayle got out to Basil Thampi, the scorecard read 57/2, with Kings XI needing 76 in little over 11 overs.
The next eight batsmen could, however, manage just 62 runs as Kings XI slumped to a 13-run loss. Kings XI captain R Ashwin, while giving credit to the Sunrisers bowlers, said that the batsmen unnecessarily playedrisky shots.
“These things (batting collapse) happen in this kind of a tournament and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowling made the difference. We lost wickets throughout the middle (overs) and I thought we kept attacking a little too much and lost few wickets,” he said after the match.
Indeed apart from Rahul and Karun Nair, who got out to two superb deliveries from Rashid , all the others fell to rash shots. It also shifts focus to the role Gayle and Rahul have played in the Kings XI line-up.
While Rahul is their topscorer (268 runs in seven matches), the West Indies player has contributed 252 runs in just four games. Apart from the duo, Nair is the only batsman to show some fight (186 in seven matches). If these three are taken out, none of the other Kings XI batsmen have a respectable tally, no one have more than 105.
After the loss, Ashwin hoped Kings XI’S middleorder batsmen will come good at an opportune time.
“We do have finishers but they are not coming off. You won’t get all the puzzles solved at once. Hopefully, some of the people whom we have trusted will come good at the right time. That’s how you get going. They are quality players,” he said.
Apart from the poor show by the middle-order, Ashwin also blamed his team’s poor fielding.