Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) horrid run in the IPL 2021 continued despite the tournament shifting to UAE, as they lost their second game in the final leg of the tournament to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Sharjah.
This meant that they have lost 8 games out of 9 played and have almost ensured that they will hold the wooden spoon this season.
Having restricted Punjab Kings for 125/7, SRH was hoping to chase the small total successfully. But they started off badly, losing David Warner for 2 and Kane Williamson for 1, and then it was all over for them, despite Jason Holder’s valiant 47* with 5 sixes. In the end, SRH managed just 120/7, losing the match by 5 runs.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss blamed the lack of confidence in SRH batters for their failures.
IPL 2021: Need to keep going for the fans- SRH's Jason Holder after loss to PBKS
“Yeah, look I do not think that our batters are playing with confidence obviously. We have lost five games under 10 runs and most of them batting second. So, yeah, we made a lot of mistakes," admitted Bayliss.
He further added that SRH batters might have been better off playing groundstrokes while chasing a small total.
“Knocking the ball down the ground would have been the way to go, chasing a small target on a wicket like that, you would like to get off to a good start with the new ball but unfortunately, it went the other way. In the end, we did not play good cricket," he said.
But Bayliss was hopeful of Kane Williamson and co. turning things around and ending the IPL 2021 tournament on a high.
“When we have played well in the past, we have got off to a good start at the top of the innings. The young guys in the middle-order have been exposed to a certain degree, but against Punjab Kings, experienced batters in the middle-order made mistakes. We have a game in a couple of days so we have to turn it around quickly," added Bayliss.
(IANS inputs)