Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) mentor VVS Laxman cited disappointment in the pitches prepared at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the ongoing IPL 2021 edition and called them far from ideal for T20 cricket.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) registered their first win of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season by beating the Punjab Kings earlier this week.
This was done thanks to openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow skillfully provided the finishing touch on a testing Chennai surface to bat on, but the victory was set up by the SRH bowlers who kept PBKS to 120 runs.
In his column for the Times of India, Laxman lauded SRH batsmen for their skilled batting.
"Davey Warner (37) and Jonny Bairstow (63* off 56 balls) paced the reply superbly, and the return of the experienced Kane Williamson (16*) brought calmness and composure. It might have looked as if we left it a little late, but we were always in control, going about our task with professional efficiency,” Laxman wrote.
However, Laxman expressed his "disappointment" about the tracks that have been rolled out at the Chepauk.
"I must express disappointment at the nature of the tracks teams have had to encounter in Chennai. Yes, the batsmen must be tested too, it should not be a situation where the ball disappears to and beyond the boundary with monotonous regularity. But the pitches at Chepauk have been so loaded in favor of the bowlers that they are far from ideal for T20 cricket," Laxman opined in the column.
Laxman also called losing T Natarajan, the yorker specialist, who has been ruled out of the IPL 2021 to a knee injury that will require surgery, a big blow to SRH plans.
"Our joy at the first points of the season was tempered by the news that T Natarajan won’t be available for the rest of our campaign. Nattu was one of our stars in the UAE last season, and [he] built on that success with inspirational debuts for India in all three formats. He is due to undergo surgery next week to address a troublesome knee, and we wish him the very best," Laxman wrote.
However, he cited injuries as part and parcel of the game and gave examples of Rajasthan Royals who lost two of their core members Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer to injuries.
"We had formulated several of our strategies around Nattu and will now need to improvise going forward. [But] We aren’t the only ones in this situation. Rajasthan Royals have lost two key men in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. Even before the start of the tournament, several overseas players across teams pulled out at the last minute, throwing plans out of kilter," Laxman concluded.
(Times of India inputs)
