IPL 2020 | We've been unlucky that our middle-order hasn't fired the whole season, insists Mohammad Shami
Glenn Maxwell remained not out on 10 in KXIP's loss against KKR
|IPL
Mohammad Shami has insisted that KXIP have been unlucky when it comes to their middle order as it has not fired in any matches this season. On loss against KKR, Shami opined that it is unacceptable to lose the game from a commanding position and KXIP have to execute their plans on the field.
There are not many things that have right for the Punjab-based franchise as they occupy the last place on the points table, having won just 1 game in 7 they have played so far. However, despite their dismal performance, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal - both of whom lurk at the top in the highest-scorers list - form one of the most formidable batting pair at the top, but their middle order has proved to be extremely brittle with under-firing Glenn Maxwell.
Another player who has clicked for the franchise has been Mohammad Shami, who has taken 10 wickets in 7 matches, and he insisted that the whole KXIP team needs to perform together in order to win games. He added that KXIP have been unlucky with their middle-order batting failures.
“We are still confident. However, T20 is a kind of a format wherein if you make one mistake, it's difficult to compensate for that. Sometimes, our bowling is weak, and sometimes, we miss out in batting. As they say, to win a T20 game, you need a whole package. Everything needs to come together,” Shami said in an interview with TOI.
“I think our combination is not matching, sometimes we bowl well, and at other times we bat well. We need to combine both We've been unlucky that our middle-order hasn't fired the whole season. We've scored over 200, and restricted the other teams to a low total too. So, there's no dearth of ability. It's all about luck. We need to think where we are going wrong.”
KXIP lost the match against KKR after almost chasing down the target, but choking at the end to lose the match by 2 runs. At one point they needed runs at the rate of just below 7, but the decision to send youngster Prabhsimran Singh ahead of Maxwell backfired massively. Shami stated that it is not acceptable to lose a game after being in a winning position and stressed on the need to properly execute their plans on the field.
“In any format, when a match is in such a stage, where you are in a winning position, and then lose the game from there in the final three overs, then it isn't acceptable. You can't blame anybody. In the T20 format, I don't think you'll get an easier situation to win a game than when you need 21 runs in 17 balls with nine wickets in hand. Our support staff with Anil bhai, Jonty Rhodes, Wasim Jaffer and Andy Flower have worked very hard in practice sessions, but they can only do so much. We have to execute out in the middle,” he added.
