After a disappointing first half, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have registered three consecutive victories in the ongoing IPL to keep their play-offs hopes alive.
The one player who has played an instrumental role in scripting KXIP’s wins over Delhi Capitals (DC), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) is fast bowler Mohammad Shami, who has taken 16 wickets from 10 IPL games this season.
While Shami claimed 2 wickets for 30 runs and bowled a fantastic first Super-Over against MI, he returned with the figures of 2/45 and 2/28 against RCB and DC respectively.
Following KXIP’s five-wicket win over DC, skipper KL Rahul hailed Shami, saying he has bowled with a lot more "clarity of mind" in the IPL 2020.
See Also: KL Rahul hails Glenn Maxwell as "a great team man" after KXIP’s win over DC
"Look we all know that what Shami can do on a given day. He has been doing that for many years now. I think this year, there is a lot more clarity and he has put his hand up as a senior bowler," Rahul said at the post-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
The KXIP captain reckons when seniors perform, juniors take inspiration and that's what is happening thanks to Shami's efforts.
"It is important that internationals across teams put their hands up. That makes the team a lot better and youngsters can feed off that," he said.
"You start winning a lot of games and it's great to see Shami doing really well and touchwood the ball is coming out of his hand as perfectly as ever. Hopefully he can get more wickets for the team and keep bowling the way he is bowling," Rahul added.
Chasing 165 to win against DC, KXIP were struggling at 56/3 before Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24 balls) shared a 69-run stand to guide the team over the line with an over to spare.
It was Maxwell’s highest score in this year’s IPL after he endured a tough time in the first half of the tournament.
"Well, it's important for the team and individual as well...it's important that the team backs its match-winners. We know what Maxwell can do. When he comes good, he gives a lot of solidity to the team. He balances it out and is a great team-man.
"To have Maxi in form is a great thing and it has eased his nerves as well. He has played a lot of cricket for a long time and he knew what he needed to do," Rahul said.
He praised the hard work put in by his team after a string of losses.
"If all of that comes together every game, I will be sitting here with a big smile. It's important that guys who haven't found their form find some form and good that a lot of things are falling in place," Rahul said.
"The work put behind the scenes by the boys and the coaches is slowly starting to show. Hopefully, we can build from here and learn from our mistakes. Go forward with more confidence."
Kings XI Punjab will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their next game on Saturday (October 24).
(With PTI inputs)
