Kings XI Punjab stand-in captain David Hussey today said that the run-out of Mumbai Indians stumper Dinesh Karthik to end a 75-run partnership with James Franklin turned their IPL match here in their favour.
"I thought Dinesh Karthik`s run out changed the game. He`s a quality player and someone who I think will play a lot for India in the future. When he was going strong I thought 180 Mumbai Indians would raise 180. To restrict them to 163 from that stage was a fantastic effort from our bowlers," said Hussey after KXIP`s six-wicket victory.
"We are sitting probably sixth or seventh on the league table. If we just keep collecting the wins here we can make it to the finals. If we stick to good basic cricket we can shock a few teams," he said.
Hussey praised the innings of 68 not out from his Australian compatriot and team-mate Shaun Marsh and hoped the left-handed batsman continued to perform as well in future matches.
"The way Shaun batted tonight hopefully he goes from strength to strength and we continue being very consistent," said Hussey, who led KXIP in place of injured Adam Gilchrist.
"It was satisfying to win here. All the boys love playing here. To put a performance like that in front of the Indian and world public was just fantastic. The boys are not going to celebrate tonight knowing that a return game is due in a few days` time (at Mohali)," Hussey said.
Mumbai Indians batsman James Franklin also said that but for the run-out dismissal of Karthik in the first ball of the 16th over, the home side would have put up a bigger total than what they did.
"Karthik`s run out was the turning point and also changed the momentum. We were complementing each other well," he rued.
"I thought we did not capitalise enough in the last two to three overs while batting. We were in a pretty good position. It was an unfortunate mix up with Dinesh Karthik that broke the momentum. We could have got a little more I guess," said the lanky New Zealander who today scored best-ever score of 79 in the IPL.
"The way Sachin and I were batting I thought 160 was a competitive total. In hindsight, 170-180 would have been better. We were in the game except in the last three overs where Shaun Marsh batted unbelievably well and won the game. You have to give him credit for it," he said.
"The ball was not quite coming on to the bat. Sachin and I were trying to asses the conditions as much as we could. We knew if we scored 160-170, we would be in the game. Unfortunately, we ended up on the losing side," he added.
He said though MI had put up a competitive score, Shaun Marsh played a match-winning innings to dash their hopes.
"We had a total which could keep us in the game, and it did keep us in the game. But in the end it was Shaun Marsh with played unbelievably and won the game. You got to give him a lot of credit," he said.
"He (Praveen Kumar) bowled a very good first over. He was angling it well. He did not bowl too many bad balls," he said.
"Malinga has been an important part of Mumbai Indians since its inception. Any team would love to have him, but his injury is unfortunate. He is bowled well. He is leading from the front. He is doing a good job. He led this team to Champions League title," he pointed out.
"It happens in cricket and we can`t do anything about it and hopefully he will be back soon," he said.
