IPL 2018: Brad Hodge wants more support for KL Rahul

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) slumped to their fourth defeat in the tournament against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they were brushed aside by the hosts by 15 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Despite KL Rahul’s superlative knock of 95* off 70 balls, the visitors huffed and puffed and couldn’t pull off a heist over Ajinkya Rahane’s men who have strained thus far in the event.

Punjab were set a target of 159 runs and Rahul’s masterclass was expected to take them home. However, Marcus Stoinis turned out to be their second-highest run-scorer with 11 runs off 16 balls, which didn’t help Punjab’s cause of tracing down the target. There was no semblance of support for Rahul from the other end, which led to the drubbing.

Brad Hodge’s urge to support KL Rahul

Meanwhile, Brad Hodge, the head coach of KXIP lamented the lack of assistance for the talented opening batsman. “If your one, two and three fire, you are in pretty good shape. We did not have anyone to help Rahul get the job done. It is a slight area of concern. If we had contributions from the middle order, we might have been in a better position,” Hodge was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.

The former Australian cricketer also sounded confident about the composition of the team while putting forth the need to boost their morale following the defeat. “Rahul is in great form and when Chris Gayle fires, anything can happen. We have got some extremely talented players and we need them to lift a little bit and contribute a little bit more to what they are doing. That is reality for most teams in this IPL,” Hodge added.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s men next play against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The franchise is yet to cement its position in the playoffs and still needs a couple of victories in order for them to guide themselves to safer shores.

[interaction id=”5af0766c69f1ea5af46f62e6″]

CricTracker is the home to all ‘cricketing news‘, trends and developments.