Former Punjab Kings captain Virender Sehwag believes veteran batsman Chris Gayle won’t have let the team lose like the way they did against Rajasthan Royals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
10 runs were required off 15 balls for Punjab Kings but well-settled Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram could not finish the run-chase of 186 runs as they fell short by two runs.
In fact, only four runs were needed off the final over but Punjab Kings lost two wickets and could only score a solitary run. It was a disappointing end for Punjab Kings as they were in a winning position in the run-chase.
On the other hand, Chris Gayle was not picked in the playing XI as Punjab Kings played Aiden Markram on his current form. Gayle has all the experience under his belt and he is regarded as one of the best T20 batsmen.
Virender Sehwag told Cricbuzz, “Singling out the player for defeat would be a bit difficult for this match. I would say that luck didn’t favor them but still if we have to pick someone, it should be Mayank Agarwal. If you are in form and scoring runs then you should finish the game and not leave it on anyone else… I always talk about Ruturaj (Gaikwad), he scored 89 not out, played 20 overs, even played the last ball and hit a six which probably won the game for CSK.”
The former India opener added: “Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul should do the same because that is the responsibility of the top-3. The new batsman doesn’t know much about the pitch or how to play on it but you are there for 40-50 balls. The team shouldn’t lose like this. If it was for Chris Gayle, I guarantee that if he had scored 50-60, he wouldn’t have let PBKS lose. He would have won the game for them.”
Meanwhile, Aiden Markram played a dot on the first ball of the final over and got a single on the second ball. Subsequently, he could not get the strike back as Tyagi bowled four dots in a row to pull off an emphatic win for his team. Sehwag suggested that Markram should have taken the strike in the final over and should have tried to run for the byes.
“He’s not out on 26 and didn’t play a single ball in the last over. He’s an international player, a senior player, it was his right to reach out to the non-striker batsman and say that he has to run [to rotate strike] no matter where the ball goes. You should have taken the strike back because you have already played 20 deliveries. I believe that’s another mistake.”
Punjab will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad at Sharjah on 25th September.
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