After a solid beginning to the modest chase against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their way completely and ended up with a painful 12-run defeat on Saturday (October 24), which could well put an irrevocable dent to their playoff chances.
And skipper David Warner was left ruing the complacency that seeped in after he and fellow opener Jonny Bairstow had given their team another fine start.
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Warner (35) and Bairstow (19) put on 56 runs for the first wicket, before SRH lost their last eight wickets for just 58 runs, including five in the last two overs of the chase, failing to cross KXIP's 126/7.
"In regards to our batting, obviously very disappointed," Warner said at the post-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
"We didn't get the job done. We were probably a bit complacent in the middle. We didn't take the game on enough like we did the previous game (their victory against the Rajasthan Royals)."
"I think we probably just felt that we were just going to get the runs easily, and then we sort of let the balls get ahead of the runs. That's what happens in a game of cricket, if you give your opposition a sniff it can get taken away from you very fast," he added.
Though disappointed with the insipid batting performance, Warner didn't stop himself from praising his team's bowlers, who restricted the power-packed KXIP batting unit to a very manageable total in the first half. Sandeep Sharma (2/29), Jason Holder (2/27) and Rashid Khan (2/14) bagged two wickets apiece.
"I think our bowlers did an incredible job to bowl them out [restrict them] for under 130," Warner said. "I felt that they did an exceptional job through the middle period to take wickets and to use the pitch to their advantage."
"I think in previous games we probably didn't do that as well as we would have liked (with the ball), and today was a special day for them."
On his own batting, Warner said he focused on reviving himself through the tried and tested aggressive mode, having played anchor in previous games.
"Yeah, I was going back to my old-school days. I was opening my front leg and just taking on the powerplay, something I haven't done for a long time," he said.
"It's one of those things, where I felt that the best part of the powerplay was to try and go after it, go after their main bowler who swings the ball and is a very good bowler – (Mohammed) Shami."
"So I just tried to apply a little bit of pressure. And yeah, it's fair to say that I've probably been quite reserved the last few years, so it was nice to open the front leg and show that I've still got that," Warner added.
Their seventh loss in eleven outings has left SRH with a herculean task from here on if they are to finish among the top 4. But Warner is still confident of the road ahead.
"I would like to think that the team will do that, definitely," Warner said. "We've got three challenging games coming up, one here and two in Sharjah. If you want to win the tournament, you've got to beat the top three teams and that's what we face in our next assignment."
