Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Anil Kumble has reacted to the shocking two-run loss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The game was in Punjab’s hands till the final over, and there was no way Rajasthan could have stolen it, but they did the unthinkable. The KL Rahul-led side had to score just four runs in the last over to snatch a victory. However, young RR pacer Kartik Tyagi conceded just one run and took two wickets to guide his side home.
Kumble revealed the team planned to finish the game in the 19th over itself, but the batters took it to the last over, which shouldn’t have been done.
“It’s sort of becoming a pattern for us, especially when we get to Dubai, it seems. The approach was clear, we needed to finish it in 19 overs. That was the approach, to not let it go till the end. But unfortunately, when you leave it to the last couple of balls, it becomes a lottery. Credit to [Kartik] Tyagi for the way he bowled,” said Kumble after the match.
The former India skipper was unhappy that the batsmen couldn’t manage to figure out Tyagi’s line in the final over.
“It was pretty clear he was going to bowl wide outside off, and somehow our batters didn’t take the right options. We need to discuss this and sort it out. We have five more games to go, we don’t want to get bogged down by this defeat, but it’s certainly a bitter pill to swallow,” added the 50-year-old.
“As batters, they know what their scoring shots are. All it needed was a bit of hitting. Even if someone got out the first ball, the next batter had five balls to get the runs. When it goes to the last couple of balls, it becomes hard. The messaging was clear. We had to finish it in 19 overs, unfortunately, that didn’t happen today,” Kumble added further.
