Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul said that his team was 10-15 runs short as Sunrisers Hyderabad romped to a nine-wicket win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Punjab was bowled out for a mere 120 as Khaleel Ahmed picked three wickets and in reply, Hyderabad chased down the target in 18.4 overs.
"It was tough to adapt but we knew, having watched the games, what to expect. We tried to get used to the conditions as quickly as we could but we were 10-15 runs short. A few batsmen got set and couldn't get those 30s-40s that could get us through," Rahul said at the post-match interview.
Chasing the target on a slow, tricky surface, Jonny Bairstow dropped anchor with an unbeaten half-century and along with David Warner put on a 73-run opening stand.
"We knew that Jonny and David are their key batters, you know they're going to come hard. It's a little tricky to have attacking fields. Was hoping to get one of them and then attack, that was my thinking. Now looking back that could have been different," the Punjab skipper added.
Rahul further said that his team needs to start winning games consistently to remain in contention for a playoff berth.
"Every game from now is important for us and we've always been in that situation, where we get in a place where we have to win every game. Not a bad place to be, to be honest," he said.
Sunrisers' middle-order batsman Kane Williamson returned to the side after recovering from an injury and was happy to play his part in the win.
"Bit of a minor injury on my elbow. It's feeling pretty good. Nice to be out there and get my first opportunity, but nice mostly to learn from our previous games as a team. A lot of teams are trying to find their best balance, and I think we'll see through the tournament that it'll vary," Williamson said.
Comments
SHARE