Kings XI Punjab opener KL Rahul defended his strategy of playing slow initially while chasing a mammoth 213 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, saying one between him and Chris Gayle was supposed to go all out upfront while the other tried to take the game deep.
Chasing a huge total, Rahul (79 off 56; 4×4, 5×6) made a valiant effort with the bat but lacked support from the other end as Kings XI were restricted to 167 for eight.
“That’s been the team plan. One of me or Chris Gayle look to bat 15-16 overs as deep as possible so the others can play around,” said Rahul at the post-match press conference.
“That doesn’t mean that you don’t play your shots. I tried my shots a few times, it didn’t come off, few went for boundaries, few hit the fielders.” Rahul though finished with a strike-rate of 141.07 but at one stage he had just made 39 off 36 deliveries when the required rate was well above 15 runs per over.
“Not always as a batsman you will get off to an amazing start, you don’t get a 20-ball 50 each time. Sometimes when you get off to a start like that you have got to make it count but sometimes when you are not finding your touch you have to hang in there. I know that if I am set I can make up for it,” added Rahul.
