It was a “winner takes all” match between Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab on Sunday and Steve Smith’s side managed to finish on top with a nine-wicket win. The two points picked from this match ensured that Pune finish the league stage of IPL 2017 at the second spot in the standings, effectively ending Punjab’s campaign.
An outcome that left Kings XI Punjab's director of cricket operations Virender Sehwag very unhappy. So much so, that he decided to represent the team at the post-match press conference and minced no words.
(Read: IPL 2017: Pune Qualify for Play-Offs After 9-Wicket Win Over KXIP)
I’m very disappointed. I can say that none of the foreign players took responsibility and at least play 12 to 15 overs. Their role was at least one of the top four should bat for 12-15 overs, but none of the batsmen took responsibility. [sic]Virender Sehwag, Director of cricket operations - KXIP
Punjab were playing Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell in their XI and the four collectively scored 14 runs. The team folded for a collective 73, a target that Pune chased down with 48 balls to spare.
Martin Guptill was dismissed on a duck by Jaydev Unadkat on the very first ball of the innings, caught at short cover by Manoj Tiwary. After adding 19 runs to the score with Saha, Shaun Marsh (10) was also dismissed by Daniel Christian in the fourth over and the scoreboard read 19/2.
Punjab's middle-order suffered a collapse with Eoin Morgan (4), who was playing in place of Manan Vohra, Rahul Tewatia (4) and skipper Glenn Maxwell (0) failing to step up to the occasion. They were all sent packing before seven overs had been bowled.
Marsh, his role was to play till 10-12 overs, but the way he got out was disappointing and then Maxwell and Morgan, these are the experienced players… I mean the players who got out had been informing the next batsman that it’s a slow wicket and even then if you throw away wickets, it means that you’re not up for the game. [sic]Virender Sehwag, Director of cricket operations - KXIP
Sehwag had a few words for the Kings XI skipper Glenn Maxwell who in fact finished as their second-highest scorer this season, after Hashim Amla.
However, on Sunday, despite walking into a situation where the team were 31/4, Maxwell got out on a third-ball-duck.
We always knew that when Maxwell fires, then he can win the match on his own. But he didn’t fire in eight or nine games. That is a big disappointment, especially since he’s experienced, having played for Australia’s Test and ODI teams. He didn’t take the responsibility as a captain and didn’t perform for Kings XI Punjab. [sic]Virender Sehwag, Director of cricket operations - KXIP
Sehwag also clearly took exception to Maxwell “complaining about the wicket” after the skipper said this after the loss: “The toss had something to do with it. The wicket was damp after a few days of rain. It was just about assessing the conditions. Everything went against us and we could not recover. We have lost our last five tosses. Unfortunately in the IPL, a lot can be decided by the toss."
I think they were complaining that the wicket was a bit slow but when you play international cricket so much, you should get used to playing on difficult or good wickets. There are very rare occasions when you get a good wicket to bat on but whatever wicket you get, you have to play at least 20 overs for your side. But Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Guptill and Morgan [were all disappointing].Virender Sehwag, Director of cricket operations - KXIP
With the season now over, Sehwag has chosen to wash the team’s dirty laundry in public but it may well be a thought-out decision. In 2018, all players will go back into a common pool and each team will have to rebuild their rosters from scratch in the IPL auction. Safe to say, Sehwag’s verbal-volley victims from Sunday may not find their way to his list in January.
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