Kings XI Punjab skipper Glenn Maxwell opined that losing the toss played a part in his side crashing to a heavy nine-wicket loss against Rising Pune Supergaint, reported PTI.
After being put into bat by Steve Smith, the Punjab batsmen surrendered meekly, and were shot out for a paltry 73. Pune made easy work of the target, chasing the total down with eight overs to spare.
“The toss had something to do with it. The wicket was damp after a few days of rain. It was just about assessing the conditions.
“Everything went against us and we could not recover. We have lost our last five tosses. Unfortunately in the IPL, a lot can be decided by the toss,” he said.
Maxwell stated that despite failing to qualify for the playoffs, his team could take plenty of positives to take from this edition of the IPL. Last year, the side had finished at the bottom of the table, picking up just eight points,
“We did not finish last, which was great. The way we played our last four of five games was great. Axar [Patel] was outstanding with bat, ball, and (in) the field. We will reflect on the positives in the change room. Thanks to the fans for the support,” he said.
In the wake of Punjab’s humiliating loss, coach Virender Sehwag lambasted his skipper and the other foreign players for failing to occupy the crease, and failing to asses the pitch and conditions, “I can say that none of the foreign players took the responsibility to play at least 12-15 overs. At least one out of the top four should bat 12-15 overs, but none of the batsmen took the responsibility,”the former India opener said.