IPL 2020: "One off day doesn’t define who we are,” says Preity Zinta after KXIP loss

After losing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday, Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) chances of qualifying for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 playoffs have reduced. Their five-match winning streak came to an end when the Royals beat them by seven wickets in match No. 50 of the tournament. However, team owner Preity Zinta is still confident that her boys will make it to the IPL 2020 playoffs by winning their next game.

Six league games are yet to be played, and six teams are still in the race for the playoffs. Apart from Mumbai Indians (MI), who have already qualified for the playoffs, and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who are confirmed as disqualified, all remaining teams are still in hunt of a playoff berth. Zinta is thus hopeful that KXIP will turn the tables around in their next game.

One off day doesn’t define who we are. We can still do this. Hope @lionsdenkxip can put tonight behind us & look forward to our next game. This tournament is wide open for a lot of teams so whoever wants it the most will get 2the playoffs. Fingers crossed🤞 #Ipl2020 #Saddapunjab
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) October 30, 2020

KXIP next play CSK in a must-win game

Chris Gayle's 99 went in vain as RR beat KXIP comfortably on Friday. (Image credits: kxip.in)

In the KXIP vs RR game, the former set a formidable target of 186. However, the KXIP bowlers botched the game as the Steve Smith-led team chased down the target with as many as 15 balls to spare. Jamaican star Chris Gayle scored 99 runs off 63 balls with the help of six fours and eight sixes, and in the process also became the first batsman to hit 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket.

The Kings XI will play their next game against CSK on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. If they lose the game, one among the Royals or Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will go past them to the top four with 14 points. RR and KKR, meanwhile, will also play their last league game against each other on Sunday. The next couple of games will make the playoffs scenario clearer, but as of now, all six teams except Mumbai and Chennai are in a race against each other.