Disappointed of course after his team's heavy loss versus Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday (April 20), but Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) head coach Mike Hesson is also quite confident of a turnaround in his boys' fortunes as he believes the R Ashwin-led side still has a very good chance of winning its maiden IPL title this year. 

Punjab suffered its fifth defeat of the tournament at the hands of Delhi by five wickets. And with only 10 points after as many games, with five victories, the team must now win at least three of its remaining four encounters to have a good chance of reaching the playoffs. 

"We played good cricket and there was probably only one game, in which we were a bit disappointing, and that was against RCB when we were below our own standards, but outside of that we have actually played very well, I think," said Hesson at the post-match press conference. 

"The destiny is in our own hands and, when we come to the back end of the tournament, that's what you want. And you know that if you play well you give yourself a good chance of winning."

"We gave ourselves a decent chance tonight. And I am very proud in terms of the way we played in conditions that were challenging, the way we hung in there, was a good effort," he added. 

Batting first, on a turning pitch at the Kotla, the visitors posted a very good fine innings total of 163/7 in its allotted 20 overs, with Chris Gayle smashing away a 37-ball 69. Though, the target of 164 was later chased down easily by Delhi on the back of solid half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan (56) and Shreyas Iyer (58*). 

"It was a good score batting first, the ball was holding a bit, so I think the fact that we looked to attack early on because we knew it was going to get harder as the ball got older, 163, on this surface, was a decent score."

The Dew was a major influence in this game, as Punjab was first forced to change its approach and look for a higher score than it normally would've played for and then evened out the rough patches of a sluggish pitch to make it very difficult for bowlers to execute their plans under-lights. 

"But, obviously, dew was always going to be the main factor and that was something that was considered at the toss by both sides. We certainly didn't get the hold in the wicket that we were hoping for. And I thought the way Shikhar (Dhawan) and Shreyas (Iyer) batted, they played low-risk cricket and they played well," Hesson stressed. 

Chris Gayle batted quite magnificently in this game and deserved the effusive praise which Hesson lavished over him afterwards. 

"Chris is very unique in terms of the power that he has got, he was the one guy to take the game away from the opposition. Obviously, we also kept losing wickets, which made it difficult to push on. That's why I thought the last partnership in the end, between Ashwin and Harpreet Brar, was very important for us," he concluded. 

(Inputs from PTI)