Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan has backed his players by saying they tried really hard but “nothing went our way” as they succumbed to yet another defeat in the ongoing IPL 2020 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (October 18).
Lockie Ferguson proved to be the “knight in shining armour” for KKR in the 35th game of the ongoing IPL 2020 with his storehouse of variation as he produced one of the most incredible bowling performances of the ongoing 13th season to power the Riders to a thrilling Super Over win over SRH on Sunday.
A fast and furious Ferguson first returned with brilliant figures of 3/15 in 4 overs during the regulation 20 overs and then dismissed David Warner and Abdul Samad in the super over, leaving KKR with only a three run-target to chase – which they chased down in the 4 balls to win the game in Abu Dhabi.
Following the defeat in a thrilling super over encounter, Muralitharan said the SRH bowlers have been doing their job absolutely great but they need to improve their batting a bit to win games in the IPL 13.
Read Also: IPL 2020: David Warner "quite disappointed" after SRH's third consecutive defeat
Chasing a 164-run target against KKR, the SRH surprised everyone by sending Kane Williamson (29 off 19 balls) to open the batting alongside Jonny Bairstow and Muralitharan revealed that an injury to New Zealander forced him to play the hitter role in the powerplay on Sunday.
Muralitharan said in the post-match press conference: “We decided because of his (Williamson) injury as he was finding it difficult to run twos and threes and he went out of the field so we thought it is the best opportunity because he is playing really well. He did his job but at the end of the day it was a tie match and it happens in T20 cricket. We tried hard; nothing went our way.”
He further added, “Pitch is nothing because it was just 40 overs so it is the same. Pressure levels are different because when you are chasing it is hard. So, we were going really well in the powerplay and then we lost three-four wickets in 15 runs. Ferguson bowled really well and that's the one where we had problems. After that we rebuilt but, in the end, we can’t do it.”
About the crucial moments of the game, the bowling coach said Hyderabad missed their experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar who was ruled out of the IPL 2020 due to a hip injury.
He signed off by saying, “We missed Bhuvneshwar Kumar. So, we have good bowlers. In the bowling department, we can't find any fault or anything because they are doing a really good job. batting little bit lacks in this tournament and if we can click that definitely it will change. Still, we have a chance and it is a matter of three or four games winning and getting to the semifinals.”
Noteworthy, SRH will next lock horns against Rajasthan Royals at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 22. They are currently ranked fifth in the tournament with 6 points from 9 games so far.
(With ANI Inputs)
