It was not as much about winning the game for Kings XI Punjab, as it was about taking out the mental block of 'failing in crucial moments' from their memory. Ever since the third game of their campaign, they have lost a match by failing to win the crucial moments even after bossing the entire match. Unfortunately, they did exactly that today as well.
Having reached 143/1 in17 overs, one would believe that a team needing 21 runs from there on with two set batsmen at the crease would win the game 99 out of 100 times. And it was that one time in which the Kings faltered and how did they falter! going on to lose the game by two runs when they needed 14 from the last over.
There are many reasons which could be attributed to the Kings XI for the loss and Kolkata Knight Riders for the dramatic win in Abu Dhabi. However, three would suffice to break even the story of a downhill run of the Punjab unit.
On a new track, the Kings XI bowlers were going great as they picked up two early wickets and choked the flow of runs for KKR. At the end of the 10th over the team was languishing at below sixty with both Eoin Morgan and Shubman Gill trying to rebuild the innings. Only after the Morgan wicket, the commander-in-chief of the Knight Riders- Dinesh Karthik arrived and marched the troops ahead taking the lead.
While at one point it looked difficult for Kolkata to get to even 150, Karthik’s 58 of 29 deliveries at the strike rate of 200 was the dose that the team needed. It was also what Karthik needed, having failed in the last five games. Just to feel confident and to be able to say to himself that ‘Yes! I deserve to lead them’, this inning was very much required for the 35-year-old. His partnership with Shubman Gill (82 off 43) and then the death over hits helped KKR reach a competitive total of 164.
Everything was going smooth for the Punjab team as they were on their way to pick up their second comprehensive win to boost their confidence until Nicholas Pooran decided to become a hero all of a sudden. In the process, he ended up throwing away his wicket. But even at 144/2 with 21 required from 16 balls and hitters like Glenn Maxwell and Mandeep Singh in the dugout, one would fancy the batting team to win.
But instead of sending a proven talent like Maxwell in the middle, the Kings XI management decided to send a young Prabhsimran Singh in front of a vastly experienced Sunil Narine. Not only did the move fail as Singh ate away too many balls and got out eventually without fulfilling the purpose, but it also put pressure on a set Rahul, who melted under it.
When Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul were going well, Rahul was batting relatively slow but was complimented well by Mayank. Also since the required rate was quite low, it didn’t really bother anyone and later on, he picked up pace as well. But when it was really the time to kill the match he fell flat on his heels.
When the required rate was too low and Pooran was finding it difficult to connect, he should have gone on and talked to him, suggesting him to take a single. Considering the point that Pooran is an established name and hence Rahul did not feel like suggesting him anything, he should have at least talked to Prabhsimran and asked him to get a single and give him the strike.
Let’s say Prabhsimran wasn’t able to take the single. So when it was the last ball of the Narine over, Rahul should have refused the single as now 21 were required from the two overs, and taking the charge as a captain was something necessary at that moment.
Let’s for a moment also consider that he did not want a young man to believe that the captain has lost the confidence in him and therefore took the single, then he should have at least not got out playing such a rash shot as he did. He should have taken the game to the final over himself and then won it. Alas! It could not happen, giving Rahul and his team a memory that would haunt them for a long time.
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