NEW DELHI: The loss to Delhi Capitals notwithstanding, Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson reckons that "destiny is in our own hands" as far as making the IPL playoffs is concerned.
The visiting Kings XI Punjab suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in the return leg match. The mid-table team now has five wins and as many reverses from 10 outings in the ongoing 12th edition of the league.
"We played good cricket and there was probably only one game, in which we were a bit disappointing, and that was against RCB when we were below our own standards, but outside of that we have actually played very well, I think," Hesson said at the post-match press conference on Saturday night.
The former New Zealand coach added, "The destiny is in our own hands and, when we come to the back end of the tournament, that's what you want.
"And you know that if you play well you give yourself good chance of winning. We gave ourselves a decent chance tonight. And I am very proud in terms of the way we played in conditions that were challenging, the way we hung in there, was a good effort."
Batting first, KXIP scored 163 for seven in their stipulated 20 overs, before DC completed their chase with two balls to spare.
"It was a good score batting first, the ball was holding a bit, so I think the fact that we looked to attack early on because we knew it was going to get harder as the ball got older, 163, on this surface, was a decent score.
"But, obviously, dew was always going to be a main factor and that was something that was considered at the toss by both sides. We certainly didn't get the hold in the wicket that we were hoping for. And I thought the way Shikhar (Dhawan) and Shreyas (Iyer) batted, they played low risk cricket and they played well.
Both Dhawan and Iyer stroked fluent fifties to guide DC to their sixth win of the season.
The story could have been different though, had Chris Gayle stayed on for some more time. The big-hitting Jamaican smashed 69 off 37 balls with the help of five towering sixes and six fours.
"Chris is very unique in terms of the power that he has got, he was the one guy to take the game away from the opposition. Obviously, we also kept losing wickets, which made it difficult to push on. That's why I thought the last partnership in the end, between Ashwin and Harpreet Brar, was very important for us," Hesson said.