Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) mentor VVS Laxman was disappointed with his team’s six-run defeat from a winning position against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last game in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) on April 14.
Citing the challenge of the Chepauk wicket, the mentor further said it was great to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain David Warner at his attacking best against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and some brilliant bowling efforts by Rashid Khan and Jason Holder, but unfortunately ended up on losing side.
Given the reference of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and SRH’s narrow defeats against Mumbai Indians and RCB respectively, former Indian cricketer said all teams have been fantastic so far in the ongoing IPL 2021 in the pitch perspective despite they squandered winning positions in the 2 successive games.
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Laxman wrote in his column for the Times of India, “Where Mumbai has encouraged stroke-production; batting in the last few overs has been fraught with peril in Chennai. KKR discovered that against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, and we followed suit the next night when, after being on top for the first 35 overs, we still couldn't breast the tape ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore.”
He further added, “Encouragingly, the bowling group came into its own and lent Rashid Khan the support he so needs. Equally significantly, it was great to see Davey Warner (54 off 37) at his attacking best. When he and Manish Pandey were in the middle, things looked encouraging.”
Meanwhile, Manish Pandey scored a 39-ball 38 at a strike rate of 97 and eventually lost his wicket in the crucial situation of the game against RCB and Laxman said he must be particularly unhappy with himself but hope he would learn from his previous errors in the IPL 14.
He added, “The wheels came off after Davey's dismissal, and it didn't help at all that we lost three wickets in one over to Shahbaz Ahmed. I think Manish must be particularly unhappy with himself for the manner in which he was dismissed, immediately after the fall of Jonny Bairstow.
The experienced Manish knows the value of a set batsman getting the job done and he can also learn from his previous errors.”
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The SRH mentor wasn’t also surprised with the outcome of the recent 6 matches of the ongoing IPL 14 so far while hailing Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda’s incredible innings of 119 runs and 64 off just 28 balls in their IPL 2021 game against Punjab Kings.
Laxman further explained, “The twists and turns of the IPL have been all too evident with the latest season just six games young. RR’s fantastic if eventually unsuccessful run chase, spearheaded by Sanju Samson, put the Wankhede pitch in perspective, while in Chennai, KKR and SRH squandered winning positions on successive nights, reiterating the challenges of batting at Chepauk.”
He signed off, “Samson's composure and command with the bat in his first innings as captain was good to see. He has been an IPL superstar for a while now, but I believe this century will go a long way towards bolstering his confidence as he seeks to become a permanent fixture in the national team. Before that, Deepak Hooda had played a sensational inning on being promoted by Punjab Kings.”
(Times of India inputs)
