IPL 2018: KXIP Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin Heaps Praise on Aaron Finch

Kings XI Punjab captain, Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that their middle order no show is a cause for concern. Also, ace off-spinner backed Aaron Finch to come good in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

After conceding a mammoth 245 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mohali-based Kings XI outfit gave a brilliant reply to reach 210. However, they lost the match by 31 runs.

“I think 245 was a little too many. We didn’t execute our plans really well. The bowlers were just caught under the fire.” Ravichandran Ashwin told Kings XI Punjab’s official website.

Despite a good start provided by the likes of KL Rahul, KXIP went on to lose wickets in the middle regularly.

Moreover, the impressive order is accused of giving away their wickets after playing a stroke too many.

On inclusion of Finch in the XI:

“The middle-order has been a concern for us and that’s why we brought in Finchy. He hit the ball well today (against KKR). He is a world-class player and I am sure he will come good,” commented Ashwin on Finch’s knock on Saturday (May 12).

Having been deemed as a favourite to qualify for the playoffs, the recent losses somewhat affected Punjab’s chances to qualify for the playoffs.

“I would say we have got ourselves into an interesting situation. We still have got enough games to try and get through to the play-offs,” said the spinner.

The theme of Kings XI this season is over-dependence on Rahul and fast bowler Andrew Tye in two departments of the game.

“We’d love to have someone other than KL (Lokesh Rahul) stand up and go with him,” said Ashwin, who scored 45 himself and looking in good form in the tournament.

The newly-appointed captain Ravichandran Ashwin then continued to praise Finch for his contribution to the team.

“Finchy stood up a bit today but he was doing the team thing, trying to get what he could, because it was do or die at that stage,” concluded Ashwin.