More the IPL's magic

Kings had only two batters among their five substitutes in a bowling first XI, making the selection appear lopsided.  However, the Impact Sub they chose played a massive role in their victory. Ashutosh Sharma, playing his very first IPL game and only the 15th T20 of his career, faced an equation of 41 runs off 18 balls and took it down with brutal precision. He hit three fours in Azmatullah Omarzai's 18th over and another six to start the 19th from Mohit. In those 12 balls, the Kings scored 34 runs and their chances of victory increased from 9.23% to 94.56%.

This demonstrates the impact of strategic shot selection by the players. Despite their lack of experience at this level of the game, both players performed exceptionally well against bowlers of the calibre of the Titans. Shashank, who had only batted in eight of his 13 IPL matches with a high score of 25 prior to this, proved to be a valuable asset to the team.

They anticipated Mohit and Azmatullah's deliveries, whether they were slower balls or short balls, and did not simply attempt to hit them across the line. Shashank (previously) and Ashutosh (in the death) elegantly hit fours over the keeper, displaying remarkable composure. This achievement marked Kings' sixth successful chase of a target of 200 or more, setting a new men's T20 record.