Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Kane Williamson on Sunday (17th April) lauded his team for the ‘strong performance’ against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 28 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in Mumbai.
SRH thumped PBKS by 7 wickets to register their fourth consecutive win of the season. The Williamson-led side outplayed the opposition in all three departments of the game.
Bowling first after winning the toss, SRH on account of Umran Malik’s four-wicket haul bundled out PBKS for just 151 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also chipped in and took 2 wickets while T Natarajan and J Suchith also had one scalp each to their name.
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Chasing the target, even though the skipper failed to score big, the likes of Abhishek Sharma (31), Rahul Tripathi (34), Aiden Markram (41*) and Nicholas Pooran (35*) contributed with the bat for their side and finished the game with 7 balls to spare.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Kane Williamson said that although they won four games on the trot, it’s important for them to keep improving. Calling it a strong performance, he said that his side needs to focus on their cricket.
“It’s been a nice period of play for us as a side. There’s been a lot of growth. It’s a long season, lot of cricket left. As a side, it’s important we continue to look to improve. Today was a really strong performance on a surface that was a little bit different. Every team is strong, but for us, it’s just focusing on our cricket. Every team is so different from the previous year after a big auction, so it’s hard to look back too far,” Kane Williamson said.
Williamson said that so far it’s been great learning for them and they are enjoying and adjusting things nicely. He lauded Markram and Pooran for their solid 75* runs partnership.
“Certainly our attention is on the side in terms of the contributions that we want to make, the style of cricket that we want to play and so far there’s been a lot of learning. Guys are enjoying their cricket as well and adjusting nicely. We know the challenges come thick and fast and we’ll be looking forward to our next one. Both (Markram and Pooran) made outstanding contributions in the first half of this competition so far and both are clearly quality players,” he said.
The SRH skipper said that it’s important for the players of his side to stick to roles given to them, which will give them the best chance to perform.
“We’ve chased every game so far and they’ve been there at the end and done it beautifully. It’s important for all of us we keep looking to continue to play our roles and give as much as we can to the team. Stats suggest one thing but at the end of it, it’s what’s the style of cricket that is going to give us the best chance and how we can commit to that as best as we can,” he said.
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Williamson highlighted SRH's death bowling, adaptability and chasing nous as the positives from the win, saying they'll continue to try and better them.
“So far we’ve managed to put out some strong performances and we’ll continue to try and improve and put out better ones. Whether it’s sixes or fours or twos on different-sized grounds, whatever it is, it’s important for us that we are aware of that and we try and commit to that.
“A big turning point in the game (last five overs – 6/29 in the first innings), they would have liked a few more runs. But having said that, it wasn’t an easy chase on that surface. The death bowling today was outstanding. There were so many parts throughout the game that were brilliant and that was certainly a highlight for us,” he concluded.
SRH will next face Royal Challengers Banglore on Saturday (23rd April) at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
(ANI inputs)
