We were 30 to 40 runs short: Valthaty Kings XI Punjab batsman admits there was nothing wrong with Mohali wicket

Having beaten the Kolkata Knight Riders on a difficult Eden Gardens wicket three days ago,Kings XI Punjab were supposed to pull off back-to-back wins playing in front of their home crowd. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for the Punjab franchise as they lost by eight wickets to KKR in what will surely be considered a lopsided result.

Paul Valthaty, who once again disappointed with the bat today, spoke of his team’s abject surrender to the Knight Riders in an exclusive interview with iplt20.com 

What was the problem with the wicket?

We were short by at least 30-40 runs. It was a pretty good wicket to bat on, but unfortunately, our top three batsmen didn’t get stuck in. Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] was unfortunate that the injury came at the wrong time for him. So, we never really got going according to the wicket.

Was Gilchrist’s injury the turning point in your innings?

In T20, it hardly needs two or three batsmen to get a good score. Today, I thought Gilly and Shaun Marsh, would do that. But when the tempo was building for Gilchrist, he had that freak injury and after that the innings never really got going.

What did you think of Gautam Gambhir’s match-winning 66 not out?

It just shows what a class player he is; a true professional. Although it was a small target, he got stuck in and didn’t try anything fancy. He got the target done [all] by himself.

In such a lopsided game, were there any positives for Kings XI Punjab?

I think the batting of Adam Gilchrist [was a positive]. Unfortunately, even he hasn’t got going in the tournament yet. He sort of got his act going today. So that was a plus point. And the fielding – you saw David Hussey going for that catch in the last over – we never really gave in. But, all said and done, winning matters and let’s hope we are good for the run.

Are you putting yourself under extra pressure to match last year’s form, which explains your own slow start in the tournament?

I don’t think [I’m putting] extra pressure [on myself]. The nature of T20 is such. I had a first-ball dismissal, in one game I sacrificed my wicket for Adam Gilchrist and today I was getting in and then I got a good delivery from Brett Lee. I’m definitely short of runs, but it’s up to me to pull up my socks and do well for the team.