We Have Lost Most Games On Powerplay Battles: Ravichandran Ashwin

Kings XI Punjab, on Friday, officially became the second team this year to be officially eliminated from the IPL. The Ravichandran Ashwin-led side suffered a crushing seven-wicket loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders at home.  Asked to bat first, Kings XI Punjab receive twin blows just inside the first five overs.  Fast-bowler Sandeep Warrier dismissed both KL Rahul and Chris Gayle to stun the hosts and leave them reeling at 22 for 2.

For the most part of the season. Kings XI’s top-order did the job for them. But with both Gayle and Rahul flopping together in a crucial, it spelled doom for the outfit. The Punjab-based outfit did manage to score an impressive 183 for 6 but the chase turned out to be a walk in the park for the Knight Riders. Unlike the home side, the Knight Riders enjoyed a swift start with in-form Chris Lynn leading the charge.

By the time the powerplay ended, the Knight Riders had raced away to 62 for 1. The Knight Riders chased down the total in 18 overs by losing just three wicket. It was yet another poor display with the ball from the Kings XI. On an average, Ravichandran Ashwin & Co. have gave away 57 runs in the powerplay this season. No surprises then that it has hurt them as they are now staring down the barrel with just 5 wins from 13 games.

That's that from Mohali. The @KKRiders win by 7 wickets with 2 overs to spare ??#KXIPvKKR pic.twitter.com/2UMbc9tau6

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 3, 2019

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Speaking at the end of the game, Ashwin rued the poor performance with both bat and ball in the first six overs.  He was also quick to point out the time taken by Chris Gayle and KL Rahul at the top of the order.

“One of the areas we have definitely lacked this year is the powerplay, both with bat and ball,” Ravichandran Ashwin said after his side was all but knocked out of the 2019 IPL.

“Last year we had great powerplay batting with Chris and KL, but this year we couldn’t get off to great starts because obviously the pressure was on them and they had to do the job. We have to address this going into the next year because we have lost most games on powerplay battles.

“We won most games this season through the middle overs or sometimes at the death through some incredible performances from the likes of Shami or Sam Curran,” he explained.

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