Indian Premier League: George Bailey Rues Tinkering With Kings XI Punjab's Batting Order

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 the Indian Premier League match in Pune on Friday.

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. (Rajasthan Royals' Tag-Team Effort)

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. (IPL: KXIP, RR teams pay tribute to Richie Benaud)

"Hooda in his first game played brilliantly. Faulker also played well. It was nice to get over the top of them," he said. (CSK Rule Twitter, Virat Kohli the most mentioned player)

Talking about regular skipper Shane Watosn, who missed the match due to injury, Smith said,"I 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."