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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have notched consecutive victories in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and then Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last two matches. Leading the comeback after a poor start to their campaign is young, uncapped opener Abhishek Sharma and skipper Kane Williamson.
Against GT on Monday (April 11) at the DY Patil stadium in Mumbai, Williamson scored an impressive 46-ball 57, setting up a 64-run partnership with Abhishek (who scored 42). West Indian southpaw Nicholas Pooran finished the game with an 18-ball 34, and then credited fellow West Indian Brian Lara, who is part of the SRH coaching staff this season, for a turn in their fortunes.
“We have some amazing coaches that sit with us and have some amazing conversations. Brian is helping us tremendously, not just me but all the young batters. The first over (in the field) went wrong for us, but having said that with the dropped catches and extras, 160 on that wicket was fabulous for the bowlers,” Pooran said after the match.
Chasing 163 to win against the Hardik Pandya-led Titans, SRH comfortably ran to the target with five balls to spare and eight wickets in hand. “We as a batting group wanted to learn from our mistakes in the past and make partnerships. It was challenging because it was two-paced. The slower balls were sticking in the wicket a bit. We just needed a partnership, not do anything stupid and be there at the end. I try to improve every single day that I train and play,” Pooran added.
Meanwhile, GT skipper Pandya admitted that their total was at least 10 runs short of a par score against the 2016 IPL champions, who chased down the target by losing just two wickets. This was the Titans’ first defeat after three straight wins in their maiden appearance in IPL.
“I think batting wise we were 7-10 runs short, that would have made difference in the end. We started well with the ball, but those two overs where they scored 30 runs, got them back into the game,” Hardik said after the match.
