It Really Hurts to Not Close Off Game Against Delhi Capitals, Says Mayank Agarwal
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|| India Correspondent ||
Kings XI Punjab lost their IPL 2020 campaign by a whisker despite opener Mayank Agarwal’s stunning knock against Delhi Capitals.
While chasing 158 to win, Punjab were struggling at 55 for 5 but Agarwal's swashbuckling 89-run knock took them nearly to the finish line. While they required one run off the final two balls, Marcus Stoinis' successive dismissals in the final over took the game to the Super Over on Sunday.
"We had a tough day. There are a lot of positives to take out. The way we came back was fantastic, the way we bowled with the new ball was terrific. It really hurts to not close off the game from the situation we were in, feels terrible," Mayank Agarwal told KXIP TV.
"This is just the first game. We can get things rolling again, let's see how we will go in the coming games. I think to play a game like that first up was fantastic. Everyone was up for it, guys really put in the effort. Definitely, we should have finished the game when we needed one run," he added.
However, the Punjab opener further said that 158 was a decent score to chase on UAE. And, he praised Stoinis, whose 53 off 21 balls took Delhi to 157 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
"It was a par score and going into the break, we knew that if we can stitch a partnership and not give them wickets with the new ball, we could win the game," he said at the post-match press conference. "We batted extremely well to reach there. I don't know what to say (about the final moments)."
"Stoinis batted extremely well and even if we made a little mistake, he took us apart. So credit to him and he had a great game and he did really did well for them at the death," he said.
