|| Indian Correspondent ||

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) once again faced a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. The Punjab-based franchise lost by a margin of 69 runs at the Dubai International Stadium on October 8.

Batting woes of Punjab were seen again as they were bundled out for 132 where both Punjab captain, as well as opener KL Rahul and Mayank Agrawal, failed to provide with a steady start. Notably, bot of them have already scored at the beginning of this season but couldn’t maintain that form.

Apart from Nicholas Pooran, who smashed 77 off 37, no other batsman could step up. However, post-match, KL Rahul spoke about quick dismissals in between cost them the match. He also opened up about Mayank Agrawal’s run out where he said, “Getting Mayank run-out wasn’t the ideal start, it was a disaster. It was also one of those days when everything we hit in the air went to the fielders.”

He also defended his approach citing that the strike rate was very overrated. "Look, I think strike rate is very, very overrated. For me, it's only about how I can win games for my team. On a certain day if I think 120 can win the game for my team, I will do that. This is how I bat. I like to take responsibility as a leader.”

"Yes, we make mistakes. I'm not saying I haven't made a few mistakes, but you learn each day as a leader and batter. It's a partnership when you're in the middle as a batting group, every player has different roles in the team and those roles change with each game. So I try to do the best I can, try and assess and play according to that. At the end of the day, I need to walk out of the ground knowing I've got my team as close to winning or try to win the game. That is the most important thing," he concluded.