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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Ishan Kishan did not don the wicketkeeping gloves in the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at home. After the convincing 57-run win, Kishan brushed aside concerns about his fitness and said that he gave up wicketkeeping to communicate better with the bowlers. While wicketkeepers like MS Dhoni, Jos Buttler and others benefitted from calling the shots behind the stumps, Kishan took a different route after SRH lost three out of first four games, especially with the inexperienced bowling attack they have.
"I think, as a captain, I felt, there was some miscommunication going on. Sometimes your keeping, time is not there. You're not able to communicate with your bowlers what the plans are," Kishan said in the post-match presentation.
Kishan confirmed that he will not keep wickets in the games up ahead, especially in the absence of an unfit Pat Cummins.
“So it's better to be there, discuss with them what they're going to bowl so that we can... set the field accordingly. And that was the plan and I think it worked pretty well for us. (is that the way going forward?) Hopefully, yes,” said the 27-year-old.
The move worked as uncapped pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain wreaked havoc with four-fers on debut. Eshan Malinga did well too, taking a couple of wickets.
Kishan’s impactful 91
Earlier, Kishan walked out to bat early in the innings with Jofra Archer dismissing Abhishek Sharma for a golden duck. The southpaw shared a crucial third-wicket partnership with Heinrich Klaasen and scored 91 runs from 44 deliveries, featuring eight fours and six sixes. His knock helped SRH post a total of 216/6 after RR skipper Riyan Parag put them to bat first.
Kishan in orange cap race
Kishan is one of the top contenders for the orange cap. From five innings, he has scored 213 runs at an average of 42.60 and strike rate of 190.18. His teammate Klaasen is just ahead of him with 224 runs.
SRH in top 4
The big win helped SRH improve their net run rate (NRR) and climb to the fourth spot. Their next game is at home against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 18.
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