Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain David Warner said his side was one batsman short during their 20-run loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Chasing CSK’s target of 168 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, SRH were restricted at 147 for 8 in 20 overs. England all-rounder Sam Curran broke SRH’s opening stand with the dismissal of Warner in the fourth over. Warner was caught and bowled before he walked back for a 13-ball 9, where he failed to score a single boundary. In the same over, one-down batsman Manish Pandey got run out, leaving SRH struggling at 27 for 2.
Apart from New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, no other SRH batter really settled in the middle overs. Williamson scored 39-ball 57, including seven fours.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Warner admitted that SRH were short by a batsman as the wicket was slower.
“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. 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. I think with our team and the depth that we have, we’re always going to be one short either way.
Things (in the points table) are always congested in the middle. You 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,” added Warner, who is 10 runs away from completing 5,000 runs in the IPL.
With three wins in eight matches, SRH are currently placed fifth in the IPL 2020 points table, one spot above Dhoni’s CSK.
CSK next face Delhi Capitals (DC) in Sharjah on Saturday. It was DC, who triumphed when the two played against each other last month in Dubai. Meanwhile, SRH are set to lock horns against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi – the same venue where KKR defeated SRH by seven wickets in their first meeting earlier this season. #KhabarLive #hydnews