IPL 2020 | Horrible toss to lose with heavy dew and wet ball, states KL Rahul
KL Rahul rues the lost toss for KXIP's hammering
|IPLT20
After losing the toss, KL Rahul’s KXIP were sent into bat and following the game, Rahul stated that it was a horrible toss to lose with both a wet ball and the heavy dew in play. However, he admitted that this season they have had to work hard for every point and they will do it in the final game.
Following KKR’s loss against CSK earlier yesterday, this game was a real table-changer, with both Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals were in the reckoning for a top-four finish in the tournament. However, Kings XI Punjab’s hopes were dashed as early in the toss, after Smith put them to bat first.
Despite having scored 185, on the back of Chris Gayle’s 99, the Punjab bowlers struggled to grip the wet-ball later in the innings, as Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson, scored 50 and 48 respectively to take Royals to an easy victory. In the post-match presentation, KXIP skipper KL Rahul opined that it was a horrible toss to lose for them, with the heavy dew coming into play later in the innings, with their bowlers struggling to grip the wet ball.
“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. When you're operating with two leg spinners like we are, it does make things difficult. Don't think we bowled that badly but need to operate better with the wet ball,” said Rahul in the post-match presentation.
However, as they have had it this season, Punjab now will have to pray and win their final encounter against Chennai while their close competitors, Sunrisers, Royals and the Knight Riders will have to have favourable results for them to go through. At the same time, Rahul credited Gayle for batting right through the innings, which propelled Punjab to an above-par score.
“The dew has been unpredictable this season. You can't prepare for it but need to adapt to it. To get to that score on a sticky wicket was nice. Chris did well to bat right through. The season has been such that nothing has come easy. We've had to work hard for every point. No surprise that it has come down to the last game.”
