Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Shane Watson took the onus on himself for his team’s humiliating defeat against King XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Monday. Punjab chased down a target of 149 in just 14.3 overs with eight wickets to spare.
“I didn’t start well with the bat and I’m certainly to blame, getting out in the first over,” said Watson. Opening the innings, Watson was dismissed in the first over by Axar Patel. RCB were struggling at 22/3 before a magnificent knock of 89 runs in 46 balls by AB de Villiers took Bangalore to 148/4. “A few more than 170-180 would have been nice,” Watson said.
The Punjab batsmen then took RCB bowlers to the cleaners with Hashim Amla (58) and Glenn Maxwell (43) sharing a 72-run innings in 38 balls to take them home. “We didn’t even execute nicely with the ball. There was a little bit more dew than I thought there would be and it was skidding along more in the second innings,” Watson said.
Punjab skipper Maxwell credited his bowlers for the win. “Feeling good. It’s been a great start for us. The bowlers set it up for us. To keep it to 23 in the powerplay was a great effort,” he said. “Our bowlers seemed to get something out of this wicket when there was something there. The boys have been adaptable, I can’t ask for more than that.”
This was Punjab’s second win in the season. They had beaten Rising Pune Supergiant by six wickets in their first match.
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