IPL 2019: Key talking points from KXIP’s win against RR

Rajasthan Royals again fell into the old habits of completely losing the plot and throwing away a winning position as they succumbed to a 12-run defeat against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. After a promising showing against the Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan were expected to find some form and confidence and give a tough fight to their opponents. But Punjab wrangled the momentum just at the right moment and seal a crucial victory, which boosted their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Rajasthan will be left scratching their heads as the defeat meant that their hopes of qualifying for the final stages of the tournament are all but over. 

Here we look at the key talking points from the match between Rajasthan and Punjab: 

Rajasthan’s chopping and changing comes back to haunt them

Rajasthan made too many changes at a go, which clearly disrupted the balance of the team. The likes of Steve Smith and Ben Stokes were out of the side and Ish Sodhi and Ashton Turner came in to replace them. Ajinkya Rahane also decided to drop down the order and Rahul Tripathi was promoted to his preferred role as an opener. There is no denying the fact that Rajasthan needed to make some changes in their setup to embark on a winning run. But the decision to chop and change to an extreme extent in such a crucial game left many people shaking their heads and disrupted the rhythm of the team.  

Ravichandran Ashwin leads from the front 

The snub from the 15-man squad for the 2019 World Cup would certainly have been on the back of the mind of Ravichandran Ashwin. He has been a proven performer for India over the years and is now turning out to be a shrewd leader of Kings XI Punjab. He also led Punjab well last year, only to see a terrible loss of momentum which led to them failing to qualify for the playoffs. But he has clearly learned from the mistakes and has led from the front. His performances have also improved this season, especially with the ball. He has picked up 11 wickets this season, more than he did in the previous edition. Against RR, he also played a quick cameo with the bat, scoring 17 runs in only 4 deliveries to go along with his 2 wickets. For his contributions, he was rightly adjudged the man-of-the-match. With the skipper himself in brilliant form, KXIP will fancy their chances of making a late dash into the tournament.  

Steve Smith’s career at a standstill 

Unlike David Warner, Steve Smith has failed to make a lot of noise with the bat after his comeback from a 1-year suspension for ball-tampering. Smith has struggled so far this season, often halting down the momentum of his own side with his rusty batting. The Rajasthan team management had to make the tough call of dropping Smith from the side for the match and no one could argue with it, with the former Australian captain’s strike-rate this season being over a paltry 107. It now remains to be seen whether Smith finds himself back into the team before the end of the tournament and if he does, he will have to find to quickly find his form or questions will start to arise over his place in the Australian World Cup squad.