Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been struggling to find form in IPL 2020 underway in UAE. The David Warner-led side succumbed to a 20-run defeat at the hands of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) whilst chasing 168 runs in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Speaking on the loss, SRH skipper, David Warner, felt that the wicket grew slower as the match progressed, and the lack of an extra batsman affected them to some extent.
“The wicket was on the slower side, I think we needed an extra batter. We tried to take it deep. You got one big boundary, so it’s not easy. We have to go back to the drawing board and work on a few areas” said Warner in the post-match presentation.
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When asked by the commentators whether the target of 168 was chaseable for SRH, Warner felt that any score above 160 on this wicket would have been trickier. He added that the batters always face a challenge in the first six overs but that’s a task they would have to execute.
“I thought 160 was the right total to go after, but anything above that was always going to be difficult. Having 6-7 bowlers in the team helps. It’s difficult to play against bowlers who can swing the ball.
There’s always a challenge in the powerplay, but you have to take on the bowlers. We need to monitor the wickets in the upcoming games and select the team accordingly.”
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With IPL 2020 reaching the half-way mark, SRH is now tied alongside CSK with three wins each this season and would be taking on some of the big names of the tournament in the latter stages. Six more matches remain for SRH before their league run comes to an end,
“Things are always congested in the middle. You’ve got to beat the best teams to make it to the top. We’ll be facing the top teams in the next few days, so I’m up for the challenge and so are the other guys,” said Warner.
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Earlier in the dah, SRH had managed to restrict CSK to 167, courtesy of the economical exhibition from medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma who picked the crucial wickets of openers Sam Curran (31) and Faf du Plessis (0) and ended with figures of 4-0-19-2.
Pacers T Natarajan (2/41) and Khaleel Ahmed (2/45) were a bit expensive in the end but managed to uproot the CSK’s middle-order.
Surprisingly, spinner Rashid Khan remained wicketless while he conceded 30 runs and so was the case with Shahbaz Nadeem who scalped figures of 0/29 in the allotted four overs.
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During the chase of 168, Kane Williamson (57, 39b) was the highest run-getter for SRH. The top-order trio comprising David Warner (9), Jonny Bairstow (23), and Manish Pandey (4) was dismissed in the first ten overs.
With the chase requiring 108 runs in 60 balls, Williamson forged a 40-run stand with Priyam Garg (16). Garg’s departure in the 15th over was followed by Vijay Shankar (12) and Williamson in the 17th and 18th over that cut down the chances of their triumph.
Rashid Khan (14, 8b) hit a six and a four each in the final stages of the game but it wasn’t enough, eventually leading to SRH’s 20-run defeat versus MS Dhoni & Co.
In the points table, Sunrisers Hyderabad is now seated at the 5th spot with 3 wins in 8 matches, 6 points, and an NRR of +0.009.
The Men in Orange will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second match of the double-header on October 18 in Abu Dhabi.
