On Saturday, Kings XI Punjab extended their losing streak as Kolkata Knight Riders beat the side by 2 runs in the 24th fixture of the Indian Premier League at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
A contest, which was Punjab's to win, turned its tide and ended with Dinesh Karthik's side clinching a 2-run victory. At 14.2 overs, Punjab openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal had scripted a whopping 115-run partnership while chasing 165.
Punjab has now lost six games in the IPL and skipper Rahul has no answers as to why is the side losing games despite a good start.
"I have no answers. We just need to keep coming harder in the next seven games. We bowled really really well. This was a fresh strip so we didn't know what were good lines and lengths," said Rahul during the post-match presentation via host broadcaster Star Sports.
"And the bowlers adjusted really well. And they were brave at the death too," he added.
While chasing, KXIP collapsed from 149/2 to 158/5 in the last two overs as KKR bowlers made a comeback to clinch the final ball thriller.
"Don't think we were satisfied at any stage in the chase. You are satisfied only when you win the game. Towards the end, we kept losing wickets, and couldn't get us over the line," said Rahul.
KXIP needed 14 runs off the final over but Sunil Narine exceptional bowling performance denied Punjab a much-needed win. In the final ball, Glenn Maxwell smashed a four that almost looked a six as KXIP lost the match by 2 runs.
KXIP will next lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday.
The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)