Former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag while talking about match 3 of IPL 2021 between KKR and SRH said that Manish Pandey could not win the match because he did not get deliveries in his radar to hit sixes.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening match of IPL 14 by 10 runs at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai.
Chasing the target of 188 runs, SRH was in a spot of bother as they lost both openers David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha inside three overs.
Joining the hands together Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow stitched together a 92-run partnership to keep SRH in the hunt. However, the wicket of English batsman saw David Warner-led franchise tumbling as they failed to continue the momentum.
Manish Pandey, who came to bat in the second over after the dismissal of his skipper, played an unbeaten 61 run-knock but could not get the team across the line.
Youngster Abdul Samad tried his best and smashed Pat Cummins for a couple of sixes in the 19th over to give SRH an outside chance of a victory but failed to chase the target as KKR won by 10 runs.
Following SRH’s loss, many fans and pundits criticized Manish Pandey for his non-aggressive approach as the right-handed batsman despite being well set founded difficult to clear the boundary ropes.
Addressing the same former Indian opener Virender Sehwag remarked that Manish Pandey failed to take the initiative after getting his eyes in which tilted the game away from SRH.
“Pandey couldn’t hit a boundary in the last three overs he batted against KKR. That lone six came off the last ball when the match was over. He had an important role play. He already had faced the pressure and was set. Had he taken the initiative to smash a few boundaries, SRH wouldn’t have lost the game by 10 runs,” Virender Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
Sehwag while defending Manish Pandey said that many a time even a well-set batsman finds it hard to hit boundaries as he struggles to get the balls on his radar.
“It happens sometimes that you are a set batsman but you don’t get the balls to hit. I think the same thing had happened with Manish Pandey. He didn’t get any ball in his radar and hence, he couldn’t hit a six," he said.
SRH will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 14th April at Chennai.
(Cricbuzz Inputs)
