We have to play for our pride: Murali Vijay

Kings XI skipper Murali Vijay said that his team, Kings XI Punjab will play for pride in the two remaining matches this season and will look to finish the season on a high.

“We got to put up a show (because) individually and as a team we have a lot at stake,” Vijay said on Sunday.

KXIP are out of the race for the playoffs as they had their 8th loss this season against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

Punjab batted well to post a target of 179, with Hashim Amla scoring 96 runs off just 56 balls. But that wasn’t enough to defeat the inform Sunrisers side, who is the current table toppers and the first team to qualify for the playoffs. David Warner, the skipper of the SRH laid the platform with a brilliant half-century before he was dismissed hit wicket. And then the local boy, Yuvraj Singh presented a stunner of an innings of an unbeaten 42 runs off 24 balls to win the match for his side.

Vijay praised Amla for his brilliant knock. “He is a world-class player and the way he played on this kind of wicket is really great to watch from outside. And (there is) lots of things to learn from him. Obviously, to come up on the wrong side in the end (you feel) a little sad for him and for his knock. Hopefully, we can take it on the chin and play a couple of more games with a lot more pride,”

After Warner’s dismissal, Punjab was really in the hunt to win the match but Yuvraj is the one who snatched it away from them. “I thought they batted well, to be honest. We were in the game till the 15th-16th over. And when Yuvi (Yuvraj) came, we missed out on the plans,” he said. “Obviously, we need to rethink about it. This is what we are going to face in the future games, in the pressure situation what we are going to do. I cannot be harsh on my bowlers because they’ve been brilliant throughout the season. One off-game like this does happen,” he added.

Kings XI Punjab has two matches left this season and both of them are away matches, against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS). “For pride’s sake, we’ve got to play there and put up a good show against RCB and one more game in the end, against Pune. Hopefully, we can put up a good show.”

“I personally thought we have a good set up. We have a good bunch of guys who could win matches in their own right. It didn’t click for us this season. We can take the positives from this season and come back and play better cricket next season,” Vijay signed off on a positive note.

Also read – Ricky Ponting backs Rahul Dravid for India coaching job