Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Brian Lara has expressed disappointment over his team’s abysmal batting performance in the IPL 2023 clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday (April 7).
Opting to bat first, SRH managed to post only 121/8 on the board as they suffered two separate collapses. While the Sunrisers first slipped to 55/4 from 50/1, they crumbled to 109/8 from 94/4 in the second half of the innings.
As it turned out, Lucknow Super Giants chased down the target with five wickets in hand and four overs to spare, handing SRH their second successive defeat of the ongoing IPL season.
"I think we are losing a lot of wickets in clumps. In the first game we lost two wickets in the first over. Tonight (Friday), we lost three wickets in seven balls which changed the complexion of the game. So, we definitely have to look at our batting and come up with a solution for it," Lara said during the post-match press conference.
Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya and leg-spinner Amit Mishra starred with the ball in LSG’s win over SRH. While Krunal ran through SRH’s top order to return with the figures of 3/18 in four overs, Mishra produced a stunning spell of 2 for 23 in his quota of four overs.
According to Lara, the pitch wasn't conducive for strokeplay, which contributed to his batters not being able to set a par score.
"I think, obviously, today we didn't play on a pitch that was conducive to proper strokeplay. Not using that as an excuse, but I think that we definitely have to improve in our batting."
The West Indies legend defended the decision to bat first as he thought the pitch would deteriorate in the second innings.
"I think the pitch was always going to be a turner. We felt that if we got the better part of the pitch, it would be rewarding for us. It was going to deteriorate. We also felt there wasn't much dew on the ground. I thought that there was nothing to worry about."
"I think a total of 150-160, you would have seen a different story. As I said, we lost three wickets in seven balls, and that sort of stopped our progress. We weren't going very quickly but we already decided that a total of 140 to 160 would be something that we would be happy with. Well, the pitch was not conducive to proper strokeplay, as simple as that. But both teams had to play on it and they (LSG) bowled better and they batted better than us on the pitch. So, we have to take responsibility as a team and try to pick ourselves for the next game in less than 48 hours," Lara explained.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will next face Punjab Kings at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday (April 9).
(With agency inputs)
