KXIP skipper KL Rahul (centre) celebrates after the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow (far left).
Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul is certainly a happy man after his side showed hunger for win after clinching 12-run victories from jaws of defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 43 of IPL 2020 in Dubai on Saturday night.
The victory keeps KXIP in hunt for a play-off berth with 10 points in 11 games and are two points away from fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders, who also pushed over Delhi Capitals yesterday.
The victory came after KXIP batsman could only pose a paltry total of 126 on a sticky surface that offered a lot of turn to the spinners. Arshdeep Singh and Chris Jordan turned the match winners for the KXIP with three wickets each despite openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow putting 56 runs on the board within the powerplay.
Extremely pleased with the effort, Rahul said at the post-match presentation ceremony that the victory left him speechless.
“Yes we are making it a habit. In the first half we somehow couldn't make this a habit. I am just speechless right now to be honest. Very happy with the show from the boys,” he said.
Rahul also took the opportunity to KXIP coach Anil Kumble and support staff for keeping the dressing room positive despite six losses in the first seven games for the side.
“The work done is always behind the scenes, not just the players, but the support staff. You can't change much in a player in two months but you can always make them mentally better and that's what coach Kumble, Andy, Charl, Jonty and Wasim have done,” the skipper said.
After putting on the paltry total, Rahul revealed they believed the total could be defended with two wrist spinners in their strides and had come up with a plan during the innings break.
“After me and Mandeep played the first over we know it's not a high scoring wicket. We were thinking close to 160. They went hard in the first six. But I knew we could pull things back if we don't leak many runs in the powerplay as we have two leggies. We sat down and thought about the things that the bowlers would need in conditions like these and it's good to see the work paying off,” he said.
