PBKS vs KKR, IPL 2021: KL Rahul expects his team to be "smarter"

IPL 2021: PBKS skipper KL Rahul felt his side should have "applied more" with the bat to post 20-30 runs more in the first innings.

FILE PHOTO: KL Rahul during an IPL 2021 match.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain KL Rahul said he expected his team to be smarter about their job after succumbing to an embarrassing five-wicket defeat at the hands of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL 2021 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

"It is never nice to be on the losing side.... Don't know what to say. We should have adapted better. We could have applied a lot more with the bat and got those extra 20-30 runs. Expect the boys to be smarter. Some soft dismissals have cost us the game," said Rahul during an interview with the official broadcaster.

As it happened

The pitch at the world's largest cricket ground exhibited a lot of dew during the second half of the game. Rahul said, "It (the surface) was a bit two-paced. Kept a little up and down. 120-130 was not enough. Was tough to assess what are the high-risk shots here. It is expected of good teams to adapt quicker. We have a few more games here and we hope to learn from our mistakes."

Ravi Bishnoi took a stunning catch to dismiss Sunil Narine for a four-ball duck and Rahul felt Punjab's fielding coach Jonty Rhodes deserved much of that credit. He said, "Bishnoi's catch was stunning. Especially when you have a coach like Jonty Rhodes... he puts us to tough tests and sees how every boy reacts. He has a great energy off the field and that rubs off on the players."