IPL 2020: ‘Elimination does hurt’ – KL Rahul following KXIP’s defeat in last league match

IPL 2020: ‘Elimination does hurt’ – KL Rahul following KXIP’s defeat in last league match

KL Rahul

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) skipper KL Rahul looked back on his side’s season and stated that elimination was a tough pill to swallow.

KXIP had gotten off to a horrendous start in the tournament. Following one close defeat after another, they found themselves at the last spot on the table. They had won just a solitary game out of the first seven. But from the 8th game onwards, with the arrival of Chris Gayle, their fortunes turned around and they started notching up wins. They were able to win five in a row. However, two losses in the last two meant they were knocked out of the tournament.

One of the biggest positives for KXIP was the form of skipper KL Rahul. Rahul scored a whopping 670 runs in the 14 innings he played which means he is the favorite to take home the Orange Cap given for the leading run-scorer in the IPL. The opening batsman however, will not be able to add to his tally since his team is eliminated already.

‘Proud of how we performed’ – Rahul

KL Rahul KXIP

After KXIP’s loss in the final league match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), KL Rahul spoke about his team’s performance in this year’s IPL. Speaking to the media, Rahul said, “Elimination does hurt. We had given ourselves a chance at qualifying. There’s a lot to be proud of us, as a team. Would have been great to qualify. Elimination hurts a little bit. It will hurt for a little while. But we will take the learnings and come back stronger next year.”

When asked as to what went wrong on the day, the wicketkeeper-batsman said, “In the batting department, we couldn’t get partnerships going. We could’ve capitalized well and gotten to maybe 180 today. We could’ve put a big total on the board. Deepak Hooda played a superb innings. The only thing we didn’t do well was soak up the pressure a little. A couple of partnerships would’ve helped us. We needed one of the top four to get a big 70 or a big 80 which unfortunately didn’t happen.”

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