IPL 2018 | Me coming up the order was an experiment, claims R Ashwin
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that it was his decision to come up at number three, which backfired in last night’s loss to struggling Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. Opener KL Rahul scored his IPL-best score of 95* but failed to grasp the victory as his team lost by 15 runs.
Sunil Narine is one of the few examples of how a lower order batsman could also be effective at the start of the innings as he has successfully shown over the last couple of years for the Kolkata Knight Riders. While such an experiment might work for one team, it could completely backfire for another.
That’s exactly what happened last night when KXIP sent out skipper R Ashwin at number three after Chris Gayle’s early dismissal against Rajasthan Royals. Ashwin was clean bowled by the stunning K Gowtham off just the second delivery he faced and that triggered the downfall of the KXIP batting order.
"It was pretty evident that the wicket would get tougher and tougher. We wanted to attack in the powerplay, get ahead of the game and take it from there. Me coming up the order was an experiment, we were planning it in the last game as well," Ashwin said in a post-match interview.
Ashwin probably thought he could help Rahul keep up with the run-rate and chase down a target of 159 with ease. Although the veteran spinner has been known to bat well in the longer format of the game, his performance in limited overs cricket is nowhere phenomenal.
Ashwin has a strike-rate of 86.98 in ODIs which might seem impressive but he averaged only 16.07. Out of 46 T20Is he has played in, he has batted only 11 times and scored 123 runs at a strike-rate of 106.95. The former CSK player has played 121 matches in the IPL and only managed 288 runs at a strike-rate of 100.34. Overall, in 206 T20 matches, he has batted in 69 innings and managed only 542 runs.
KL Rahul was the standout performer yesterday for the visitors as he batted right through the innings as he reached an IPL best of 95*, but failed to take his team all the way as KXIP lost by 15 runs.
KXIP needed to win last night in order to cement their spot in the top-four teams at the top of the table with the likes of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils stepping up their game in the lower half of the table in a bid to reach the playoffs. Preity Zinta’s side will look to bounce back to winning ways in their next outing against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.
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