IPL 13: We havent' been able to close out matches, says Mayank Agarwal

After stumbling to a four-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kings XI Punjab's (KXIP) opening batsman Mayank Agarwal said that the side has not been able to close out matches, but still there are 11 games left and all the players remain positive.

After stumbling to a four-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kings XI Punjab's (KXIP) opening batsman Mayank Agarwal said that the side has not been able to close out matches, but still there are 11 games left and all the players remain positive. His remark came as Rajasthan Royals chased down a total of 224 to defeat KXIP by four wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

For KXIP, Mayank Agarwal had scored a ton and this was his first hundred in the IPL. The right-handed Mayank played a knock of 106 runs from 50 balls with the help of 10 fours and 7 sixes. Mayank and KL Rahul put on 183 runs for the first wicket, and the duo created the record for the highest opening partnership for KXIP in the IPL. This stand between both batsmen is also the second-highest opening partnership in the IPL.

"Definitely, it is a lot of fun to bat with KL Rahul, we share a good friendship, he is a great guy, the talk in the middle was if we both are set, then one guy at least of us two bats through," said Agarwal during the post-match virtual press conference. When asked whether Gayle's inclusion in the side would be tough looking at his and Rahul's form, Agarwal said: "We are not thinking about it too much, we are very happy with the way we are playing and thee start we are able to give to the side and we will take it as it comes."

For Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and Rahul Tewatia all scored 50+ scores to give the side a victory by four wickets. Tewatia came out to bat at number four and he was struggling at one stage as he had scored just 13 runs from his first 19 balls. However, in the 18th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell, Tewatia hit five sixes to turn the side. The left-handed batsman played a knock of 53 as Rajasthan gained an improbable victory.

Speaking about the loss, Mayank Agarwal said: "I thought Rahul Tewatia batted really well to hand Rajasthan a win. See, very honestly, the talk in the dressing room is very positive, we still have 11 games to go, there are a lot of things that we are doing right, yes we have not been able to close out, but we are not focussing on the results, we are executing most of the plans, and we are quite happy with that." Rajasthan Royals will next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on September 30 while Kings XI Punjab will face Mumbai Indians on October 1. (ANI)

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