Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) batsman Mayank Agarwal was left dejected after his team's Super-Over defeat against Delhi Capitals in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Chasing 158 to win, KXIP were reeling at 55/5 before Agarwal’s valiant knock (89 runs off 60 balls) took them to 157. At one stage, Punjab needed one run off the final three deliveries but Marcus Stoinis bowled a dot ball and then struck twice to take the game to the Super-Over.
See Also: ‘It is bittersweet,’ KL Rahul on KXIP’s Super-Over defeat to DC
In the one-over eliminator, however, Delhi dominated Punjab. Kagiso Rabada conceded only 2 runs and got rid of KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran while Rishabh Pant took just a couple of balls to knock off the runs.
"We had a tough day. There are a lot of positives to take out. The way we came back was fantastic, the way we bowled with the new ball was terrific. It really hurts to not close off the game from the situation we were in, feels terrible," Mayank told KXIP TV.
"This is just the first game. We can get things rolling again, let's see how we will go in the coming games. I think playing a game like that first up was fantastic. Everyone was up for it, guys really put in the effort.
"Definitely, we should have finished the game when we needed one run," he added.
The 29-year-old said 157 was a par total posted by DC on this pitch.
"It was a par score and going into the break, we knew that if we can stitch a partnership and not give them wickets with the new ball, we could win the game," he said at the post-match press conference.
"We batted extremely well to reach there. I don't know what to say (about the final moments)."
Marcus Stoinis was the star of the match for the Capitals as he produced a stellar all-round showing, scoring 53 runs off just 21 balls and claiming 2/29 with the ball.
Lauding Stoinis for his effort, Agarwal said: "Stoinis batted extremely well and even if we made a little mistake, he took us apart. So credit to him and he had a great game and he did really did well for them at the death."
KXIP will face RCB in their next match on September 24 in Dubai.
