Ravichandran Ashwin-led Kings XI Punjab has been giving a tough fight to every team in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won against Rajasthan Royals on the back of a brilliant all-rounder performance by Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin. He scored a 4-ball 17*, including two sixes and a boundary and took two important wickets of Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi in the middle and restricted Rajasthan to win the game. The team has moved up to fifth place in the point table with 10 points, 5 wins from 9 matches. However, his match-winning performance got praise from the veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle.
“So why are they doing well? The key has been the captain. It is fashionable to look for weaknesses in R Ashwin but with Dhoni, he has been the standout leader of this IPL. You look at that team and you know straight away who the leader is. He hasn’t shied away from taking decisions, has been vocal and been happy to be in the eye of the storm himself. And, yes, he has bowled magnificently. If the Kings make the playoffs, with the resources they have, it will be a huge triumph for Ashwin,” Harsha Bhogle wrote in his column in Times of India.
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Bhogle further added in his column that Punjab is the sleeper hit of this season. He also wrote that people had earlier asked about the balance of the team. However, he said that it’s tough to say whether they could make it to the playoffs. But they have the players who have the ability to take the team a long way. He also praised the captain, Ashwin, for his captaincy after restricting Rajasthan almost single-handedly.
“Mohd Shami, having an excellent tournament but possessed of an otherwise ordinary T20 record, R Ashwin who isn’t considered for white ball cricket, Murugan Ashwin, one of many leg spinners, Arshdeep Singh, hardly heard of and Mujeeb, the highly rated young Afghani who is having an average tournament. There was no sixth option to speak of. And yet, except for a few overs, they didn’t let the Royals into the game,” he added.
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Kings XI Punjab will play their next game against Delhi Capitals on April 20 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.
