Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) David Warner believes that his team could have easily chased the target with one extra batter against Chennai Super Kings after the franchise suffered its 5th defeat of the ongoing IPL 2020 season on Tuesday (October 13) in Dubai.
In the 29th match of the ongoing IPL 2020, CSK started off well with Sam Curran playing some impressive shots and scored 31 runs off 21 balls and then Shane Watson’s 38-ball 42 and Ambati Rayudu’s 34-ball 41 helped Chennai to post a competitive total of 167 on the board after they were 44/2 in the powerplay.
Chasing the target, SRH didn’t have a good start as the Orange Army lost the wickets of David Warner and Manish Pandey early to find themselves on 40/2 at the end of the powerplay. However, Kane Williamson tried to finish off the chase but got dismissed on 39-ball 57, as their drastic batting collapse saw SRH fall 20 runs short of the 168-run target against CSK in Dubai.
Following the defeat, Warner has reckoned that the result could have been different if SRH had an extra batsman against CSK while admitting that the team composition is such that they will always end up being a batsman or a bowler short in every match in the ongoing IPL 13.
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However, the Australian opener has insisted anything beyond 160 was going to be tough to chase in the UAE conditions but he will choose the team after monitoring the wicket closely in the coming matches in the ongoing 13th edition of the IPL 2020.
Warner said at the post-match presentation, “I think with our team and the depth that we have, we're always going to be one short either way. It would have been nice to have an extra batter today, but you've got to weigh the pros and cons.”
He explained, “I thought 160 was the right total to go after, but anything above that was always going to be difficult after we lost two wickets. Having 6-7 bowlers in the team helps. It’s difficult to play against bowlers who can swing the ball. They are always a challenge in the powerplay, but you have to take on the bowlers. You've got to have clear minds, whether you're walking out or sitting deep in the crease.”
The skipper signed off by saying, “The chase didn't take flight. The wicket was a tad on the slow side. Without the extra batter, you almost err on the side of caution. We wanted to take it deep. But this is what happens in cricket, you can't win always. You've got one big boundary and you've got to rely on power, so obviously, there are things we've to go back to the drawing board.”
(With IANS Inputs)
