Losing captain Bailey admits changing batting order was 'not a good idea'

Pune, April 11: Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey rued making changes to the batting order, saying it played a part in their defeat against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match, here last night.

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Punjab sent Wriddhiman Saha at number three and Axar Patel came to bat at number five ahead of David Miller. "We could have taken a few opportunities, but I was happy at the half-way mark. A couple of run-outs hurt. We changed the batting order a bit and in hindsight that was not a good idea," Bailey said after their 26-run defeat.

The Australian though was happy with his bowlers. "Pretty happy with the way we went with the ball," he said. He appreciated the batting efforts of a few Rajasthan players. "Steven Smith batted beautifully and James Faulkner batted well as well."

Rajasthan Royals captain Steven Smith praised debutant Deepak Hooda (30) and James Faulkner (46) for their rescue effort. They raised a match-saving 51-stand for the sixth wicket.

"Hooda in his first game played brilliantly. Faulker also played well. It was nice to get over the top of them," he said.

Talking about regular skipper Shane Watosn, who missed out on today's match due to injury, Smith said," am sure he will be fine. We will get our combination right and it is nice to get a win under our belt early on."

Man of the Match James Faulkner, who was Australia's hero in the final of the World Cup against New Zealand, said,"I just back my T20 cricket to be honest. It was nice to see Hooda show a lot of confidence in his first game."

PTI