Photo: SportzPicsKings XI Punjab’s winning streak came to an end on Friday, October 30 as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Despite putting up 185 runs on the board, Steve Smith’s side chased it down with relative ease to stay alive in the competition.
“It was a horrible toss to lose to be honest. It did get very easy to bat later on. There was a lot of dew in the second half and that made it a bit tough for the bowlers to grip the ball,” remarked KXIP captain almost instantly in the post-match interview.
The surface due did have an impact on the game, especially for KXIP’s two leg spinners Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, who proved to be expensive on the night. Chris Jordan too was taken apart in the death overs whenever he missed his yorkers, making things easier for Rajasthan Royals to get over the line.
“It’s a good learning for the bowlers as well, this is the first time after our first game in Sharjah that there was a lot of dew on the surface. It gets hard for the bowlers when the dew is inconsistent, bowling with the wet ball gets really difficult,” explained Rahul.
“It is always a challenge to bowl with the wet ball, but if we come back in a similar position again, we as a team need to understand what lengths to hit and how we can get wickets early,” added the KXIP skipper.
Despite the loss, Rahul spoke highly of his bowlers, and believes his side still have a good chance of making it to the playoffs if they can get a good win over Chennai Super Kings.
“Our bowlers have done really, really well this season to keep our hopes alive, so one game doesn't change much. Important that we keep our heads high and come back stronger in the next game,” concluded Rahul.
