NEW DELHI: Shikhar Dhawan, the captain of Punjab Kings, expressed disappointment with the team's performance, stating that they failed to perform cohesively in all aspects of the game. According to Dhawan, the lack of synchronization and consistency across departments contributed to their inability to secure victories.
In their crucial match against the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings suffered a four-wicket defeat, which ultimately led to their elimination from the tournament. This defeat likely further accentuated their disappointment as they were in a must-win situation to keep their playoff hopes alive.
"We could have done better in all the areas I think. Sometimes the batting was clicking, and sometimes the bowling was clicking, we couldn't put those performances together.
"But it's a young group, so we have learnt a lot of things this season," Dhawan said after the match.
Punjab posted 187 for 5, a target achieved by RR in 19.3 overs.
Dhawan said losing too many wickets in powerplay restricted them from reaching 200-run mark, which should have been a good score on this wicket.
"We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and that put us on the backfoot, but (Sam) Curran, Jitesh (Sharma) and Shahrukh (Khan) got us back in the game, the bowling was good (in patches), but the fielding wasn't great, the dropped catches cost us the game.
"I feel 200 should have been a good total on this pitch. I knew I had to take the game deep, so I wanted my best bowlers to bowl early, so Rahul (Chahar) had to bowl the last over. In the last game I gave Harpreet (Brar) the final over, it depends on the surface and the situation," he said.
The win kept RR's slim play-off hopes alive though it depends on results of other remaining matches.
1/10:IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals eliminate Punjab Kings to stay alive
TNN
2/10:Royals eliminate Kings
<p>Shimron Hetmyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal starred as Rajasthan Royals dumped Punjab Kings out of the IPL on Friday. </p>AP
3/10:Sam Curran
<p>Sam Curran fell one run short of his 50 as Punjab put on 187/5 with Navdeep Saini taking 3/40 for Rajasthan. </p>PTI
4/10:Navdeep Saini
<p>Punjab were in trouble at 50/4 after 6.3 overs when Navdeep Saini sent Liam Livingstone's off stump flying and captain Shikhar Dhawan falling for 17. </p>ANI
5/10:Vital stands
<p>Curran's valiant 49 came off 31 balls with four fours and two sixes included vital partnerships with Jitesh Sharma (44) and Shahrukh Khan (41). </p>ANI
6/10:Jos Buttler
<p>In reply for the Royals, Jos Buttler fell for his latest duck of his lacklustre season, trapped leg-before to a vicious inswinger by Kagiso Rabada. </p>AFP
7/10:Yashasvi Jaiswal
<p>But Jaiswal continued in his stellar form with yet another half-century, off 36 balls. </p>AFP
8/10:Devdutt Padikkal
<p>Sanju Samson (2) fell to Rahul Chahar but Devdutt Padikkal made 51 before falling to a stunning catch by Harpreet Brar off Arshdeep Singh. </p>PTI
9/10:The reprieve
<p>Hetmyer almost saw the Royals home and exchanged sharp words with Curran when he was given out caught behind, only to be reprieved on review. </p>AP
10/10:Hetmyer falls
<p>Curran got his man and his only wicket in the 19th over, with Hetmyer departing for 46 off 28 after a brilliant catch by Dhawan at cover. </p>AFP"We have a quality team and it is a little shocking to see where we stand on the table," RR skipper Sanju Samson said.
He praised the breath-taking batting effort of Yashasvi Jaiswal in this edition of the IPL.
"I have been talking about Jaiswal almost every game. He has shown maturity. It feels he has played 100 T20Is," Samson said.
(With PTI inputs)
