Bayliss credited DC bowlers for Hyderabad's massive defeat on Wednesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) struggles continue as they suffered a big loss in the ongoing second half of the IPL 2021 against Delhi Capitals (DC) with the side still at the bottom of the points table.
Well, even before resuming their campaign in the IPL 2021, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has suffered a last-minute setback, as their star bowler T Natarajan was tested positive for the COVID-19.
However, the IPL 2021 contest between DC and SRH wasn’t affected by the COVID-19 case in SRH camp and was played as scheduled in Dubai, but Hyderabad failed to cross the hurdle and suffered a massive defeat of 8-wicket against Delhi on Wednesday (September 22) in Dubai.
However, the SRH head coach Trevor Bayliss has admitted that a COVID positive case inside his camp was a little bit of an upset but it didn’t affect his team’s performance and affect the result against DC.
Bayliss said at the post-match press conference, “I don't think that would have affected the result of the match. They played way too well for us tonight. It was a little bit of an upset. Natarajan was going to play, but these guys are professional players.”
He continued, “Every now and then, there's an injury just before play and you have got to make a late replacement. So, I am sure all of the players are, in a way, used to that. But we hope Nattu (Natarajan) gets over it pretty quickly and we can move on.”
The SRH head coach has credited DC’s world-class tall pacers for the win as they used the wicket in Dubai very well and took full advantage of the surface on Wednesday.
Kagiso Rabada (3/37) and Anrich Nortje (2/12) wreaked havoc on the SRH batting line-up to restrict them to 134/9, which Delhi chased down inside 18 overs with 8 wickets at hand in Dubai.
Bayliss said, “Give Delhi the credit. They bowled particularly well. They have got some world-class bowlers and upfront some world-class very fast bowlers, so they had a good day. We didn't have such a good day and that's the game of cricket. Their bowlers upfront bowled exceedingly well. A lot of pace and used the wicket well with cutters, with the ball just holding in the wicket little bit and jumping up a little bit, those tall fast bowlers took full advantage of it.”
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With Natarajan missing the game against DC, SRH went in with the left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and speedster Sandeep Sharma, who was introduced late in the attack.
Bayliss said on the decision, “Khaleel (Ahmed) in our practice matches has probably been one of our best bowlers. He was getting the ball to move around in those practice games. He is a little bit taller.”
He concluded, “We thought the balls for the taller guys were sticking in the wicket. He basically bowled quite well. It was one of those things, trying to fit three new ball bowlers into two. Today, we went with Khaleel, which meant Sandy (Sandeep Sharma) had to play a little bit of a different role.”
(With PTI Inputs)