Manan Vohra disappointed that he couldn't finish the game for the Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab opener Manan Vohra, who hit a sterling knock of 95 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, was disappointed that he couldn’t take his team home. Vohra has been part of the IPL for five seasons now and has consistently given Punjab a steady start at the top of the order. However, where Manan Vohra will be disappointed is that he has seldom been able to convert his starts to a long inning.

Nevertheless, his 95 against the Sunrisers was undoubtedly one of the greatest knocks in IPL history. The 23-year old stayed at the crease with a still head and took on the opposition bowlers while wickets were tumbling at the other end. Punjab were tottering at 82-6 and were well and truly out of the contest. Vohra though was fearless and calm. His 50-ball 95 brought KXIP inches away from victory. But as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck him on the pads with a yorker, his hopes of clinching an absolute thriller vanished. The Kings XI eventually found themselves 5 runs short of a historic win.

Manan Vohra, however, took great confidence from his brave innings. Following his heroics against the Sunrisers, he will back himself come tougher scenarios.

It was a much-needed innings for the youngster, who was often dismissed after getting a start. Although Vohra was disappointed that he couldn’t take his team over the finish line, he did admit that this was indeed the sort of innings he required to revive his career.

“I had a great opportunity to win the game for my team, but I couldn’t do that, I am pretty sad about this,” Vohra said. “This is my fifth season in the IPL and I have never converted many of my starts. But I knew that if I play around 14-15 overs, I would definitely get a big score. I was conscious of the fact that I have been dismissed a lot of times in the twenties and the thirties, so I concentrated harder during that period,” he added.

The Kings XI started things off rather professionally. On a two-paced wicket, they stifled the attacking SRH openers. Spectacular efforts in the field set a tone for the game, which the Sunrisers duly followed. The commitment from the KXIP boys showed a clear intent that they’d want to leave the field with a win in the bag.

“We did a great job with the ball to restrict them to 159 although we gave away a few runs in the end overs. The wicket was good to bat on, it was slightly slower at one end, but we felt that we could chase the target down,” Vohra shared.

Manan Vohra said the message from the dressing room was to last until the end and take chances in the final over of the innings, no matter what the asking rate was. Bhuvi’s 5-for, of which Vohra was the 5th scalp, ensured KXIP didn’t run away with the game. “The dressing room message was simple, play out this over (19th) and take your chances in the next (20th over). I wanted to do the same, I played for a single and ended up missing a straight ball,” he rued.

Vohra was the only batsman who looked fluent at the crease. Despite being jolted twice early on in the innings, Manan Vohra maintained a good strike rate. “To be honest I thought I will go and play my natural game, give a good start and put the team in a comfortable position. But with Hashim (Amla) getting out first ball and then Maxwell falling cheaply, I had to change my game plan and play for the singles, take the game deeper,” he said.

The Kings XI Punjab have experimented with several batsmen to play at the no.3 slot. Maxwell, Saha and even Axar Patel have all had their stints at this position, but have failed to make an impact. Manan Vohra, however, was clear that the team not settling with one single no.3 batsman was not a matter of concern. “There are no big concerns, we just wanted to give him time to express himself. He is a game-changer for us, the more overs he bats, the better it will be for the team,” he opined.

Vohra also lauded David Warner’s effort, who, quite like him, stood till the very end of the innings to guide SRH to 159. “He (Warner) is a legend of this game. He just changed gears and batted throughout, but the final score wasn’t too difficult,” Vohra added.

With 3 consecutive defeats, the Kings XI Punjab will look to register a crucial victory as they host the Mumbai Indians at the Holkar Stadium, their adopted home ground. “It is still early stages of the tournament, but we would look to bounce back into winning ways when we go back to Indore for the next match,” Manan Vohra concluded.