IPL 2019 | Right time to get to 10-point mark in the tournament, says Ravichandran Ashwin

04/17/2019

After KXIP’s win over RR in yesterday's game, Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that it is the right time to get 10 points in the tournament. KXIP are placed at the fourth position on the points table with five wins in nine matches and have five more matches left in the league stage.

Kings XI Punjab were asked to bat first by Rajasthan Royals in Mohali and they could manage a decent total of 182 despite KL Rahul’s sluggish fifty. The likes of Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal and David Miller got aggressive starts but failed to turn it into a big score. However, skipper Ravichandran Ashwin smashed 17 runs off just four balls in the final over to ensure that they reach a fighting total. It did seem like a fairly easy chase for RR as the pitch got better in the second half, but KXIP bowled extremely well in the powerplay and death overs, thereby, they managed to win the match by 12 runs. The skipper was delighted to win this game, after a defeat in the previous two.

“Very important to get that 10-point mark and I guess it's the right time in the tournament to do that. Its very tough to defend here, the wicket generally gets better in the second half. We probably thought we were 10-15 runs short on this pitch,” said Ashwin, at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported PTI.

Punjab pacer Arshdeep Singh had made a memorable debut for KXIP in yesterday’s match. He dismissed Jos Butler for just 23 with an off-cutter, which the batsman failed to read and handed a catch to the wicket-keeper Nicholas Pooran. After bowling three overs in the powerplay, the 20-year-old returned in the 19th over and dismissed Ajinkya Rahane in a similar fashion to seal the match for his team. The skipper was delighted with the debutant’s performance and implied that he will go a long way.

“I thought Arshdeep bowled really well in the first few overs. We had some plans for Jos and he really executed well. He can actually swing the ball both ways and for a left-hander to swing both ways is a massive advantage in the first six as we have seen with Deepak Chahar in the CSK,” explained Ashwin

“We are looking forward to Arshdeep doing some great things in the tournament.”

Ashwin was named the Man of the Match for his exploits with the bat and the ball. After a few terrific hits in the first innings, the off-spinner dismissed half-centurion Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson while giving away only 24 runs. The India player had tried his hands at leg spin in the previous IPL which was received with a mix response. However, he did not shy away from showing off his different variations and has also been tremendously successful with it. He made a statement to all those who suggested him to continue with his traditional off spin.

“For me, it's about getting various lengths with different speeds and trying to get the batsman with under cutter and reverse carrom. I worked on a lot of things despite people actually calling me for trying too many things, I kept on going,” asserted the 32-year-old.

Apart from Arshdeep Singh, Australian Moises Henriques was set to make debut for KXIP but had injured himself minutes before the toss. As a result, the skipper drafted David Miller in his place and he returned with a great performance as he smashed a crucial 40 off 27 deliveries and even caught Ashton Turner at long off.

“Most of the changes are actually forced, we got Moises into the eleven today. He was actually handed the cap but unfortunately he got injured in the last minute. Miller wasn't playing but he came in and played a vital hand for us, he took a couple of catches as well,” said Ashwin

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman had hurt his shoulder while fielding near the boundary and by the looks of it, the injury seemed serious. He did not turn up for his fourth over as well, however, the skipper stated that the extent of the injury is yet to be known.

“We are waiting on Mujeeb's status (injury) and Moises (Henriques) seems okay,” he signed off.