Rahane and Ashwin shake hands after the match.
Chasing 182 at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali is not generally considered a huge task, but Rajasthan Royals failed to do that against Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League encounter with the visitors falling short by 12 runs. Despite a solid start at the top from Jos Buttler, new opening partner Rahul Tripathi's failure to convert a good start cost the team as he finished with a 45-ball 50.
Speaking at the end of the game, skipper Ajinkya Rahane refused to be too critical and said that it was just a matter of two big hits and things would have ended differently.
"182 on that wicket was quite chaseable. We started well. Just a matter of two sixes. A game like this, you can't criticise too much. Our bowlers bowled well.
"In a chase like this, you can't lose too many wickets in a bunch. Discussion between me and Stuart (Binny) was to take it deep. Tripathi started really well. Should learn from our mistakes. These things happen in T20 cricket," he said.
While the batsmen failed to take home the advantage, the bowlers were brilliant for the Royals. While pacer Jofra Archer stole the show with figures of 3/15 from his four overs, Rahane also praised the spin bowling duo of Ish Sodhi and Shreyas Gopal.
"Our two leg spinners in the middle overs were brilliant. Jofra's four overs were critical," he summed up.
