A crestfallen Kings XI Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh rued losing too many early wickets while batting and admitted they had little chance to win the semifinal against Chennai Super Kings.
MUMBAI: A crestfallen Kings XI Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh rued losing too many early wickets while batting and admitted they had little chance to win the semifinal against Chennai Super Kings after their pathetic batting display here on Saturday night.
Half of their batsmen returned to the pavilion at team total of 50 before folding at 112 for eight which the Chennai side chased down easily with 31 balls to spare and Yuvraj said their batting failed at a worst possible time having on the roll throughout.
"We lost the main batsmen very quickly in the game, as a result we had no specialist batsmen left in the last 10 overs. This is our worst game in the tournament. It hit us hard today as in Twenty20 you don't get time to recover," lamented Yuvraj at the post-match press conference.
"It was a good wicket to bat on and a score 160 to 180 could have been easily scored. But we were reduced to 40 for 5 and by then we had lost the plot.
"After losing too many early wickets while batting we had to take early wickets (in Chennai innings). That also did not happen. We had a bad game overall," he added.
Yuvraj was, however, happy with the way the team had performed in the tournament.
"I am happy with the overall team performance in the tournament and it was a great experience playing with my teammates," he said.
Coach Tom Moody also rued that his side's batting failure came in the semifinal after doing so well in the league stage.
"It was the first time to happen like this, top order failing so badly. Our batsmen stumbled today. It was a bad one to stumble on, it happened in the semifinals," said the Australian.
"We usually lose only one wicket in first six overs in the earlier matches we had played. But today, our top order failed collectively," Moody added.
He said he would put his money on Refasten Royals to win the final match on Sunday.
"They (Rajasthan Royals) are the most consistent and difficult team to beat. They are on a roll at the moment, though I am not writing off Chennai," the Australian said.
Moody said the two finalists could change the team composition after seeing the pitch at D Y Patil Stadium where the summit match will be held on Sunday.
"It must be noted that the two sides will play on a pitch different from that of the semifinals. Both the sides may look to change their team composition depending on the pitch," he said.
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