Kings XI Punjab had lost their opening Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 encounter against Delhi Capitals by the slimmest of margins.
Against DC, Kings XI rode on Mayank Agarwal’s blistering 60-ball 89 to approach the 158-run target on Sunday. While other batsmen failed to leave an impact, it was Mayank who single-handedly propelled Kings XI and very nearly sealed a win. However, just when the KL Rahul-led side was on the brink of a win, needing just one off three deliveries, they ended up losing two wickets and eventually the contest slipped into the Super Over. Later, in the Super Over, Kagiso Rabada ensured the night belonged to the Delhi side.
Kings XI head coach Anil Kumble, however, feels there were a lot of positives to take from the defeat and all the team needs to do is make sure they rectify the mistakes committed against Delhi Capitals when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday evening.
“RCB has a very strong batting lineup with Virat (Kohli), AB (de Villiers) and Aaron Finch, (all) very experienced as well. Young (Devdutt) Padikkal batted really well for them in the last game. But we have our plans,” Kumble said in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of Kings XI.
“I think we have the ability to put it across, so it all depends on the day who plays well. Our preparations over the last one month has been really good and we are very positive after the Delhi Capitals game as to what we need to do and what are the corrections that we need to make,” he added.
Kings XI and RCB have faced each other 24 times in the IPL so far and both sides have won 12 games each. However, the Kohli-led side would enter the game – to be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium – a lot more confident considering they won their previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).