IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals Coach Sairaj Bahutule Rues Batting Failure Against Kings XI Punjab

Rajasthan Royals bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule rued the lack of partnerships after Kings XI Punjab thrashed his side by six wickets at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday (May 6).

At 84 for 2, the Royals were looking on their way to post big. However, once Andrew Tye castled Sanju Samson, it opened the floodgates. From 84 for 2, Royals found themselves 100 for 4 and later 114 for 7. Mujeeb was the destructor-in-chief, dismissing Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer to derail Royals’ innings. Shreyas Gopal’s 24-run cameo then helped Royals put up a respectable total.

In reply, the Kings XI reached home with eight balls remaining. Royals managed to put the hosts under pressure by reducing them to 29 for 2 and then 87 for 4 but KL Rahul remained till the end, scoring an unbeaten 84 to take his team over the line.

“Our batting wasn’t up to the mark. We didn’t have a partnership going. In between the 10th and 16th over, we lost five wickets. I would say we were 20 runs short,” Bahutule told Hindustan Times.

Bahutule further praised Rahul. With wickets falling from one end, Rahul was forced to drop anchors. The hard-hitting batsman took 44 balls to complete his fifty. He, however, accelerated in time to fire his team to a much-needed win. He remained unbeaten on 84 off just 54 balls.

“(KL) Rahul paced his innings really well. He took it deep and hit some really good shots in the 17th and 18th overs. Thirty-one runs in those two overs and that just took the game away from us,” Bahutule added.

One of the reasons behind Royals’ plight this season is the poor performance from Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat. Stokes and Unadkat were the costliest overseas and Indian players in this year’s auctions.

However, neither of them have managed to justify their price tags for Rajasthan Royals.

“To be honest, they (Stokes and Unadkat) are really working hard. Their work ethic is brilliant. Unfortunately, they haven’t got going. But I expect them to do well in the upcoming games,” Bahutule concluded.