Kane Williamson, the Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain, has come out and reiterated that Rashid Khan was the difference between the two sides on the night of the second qualifier, where the SRH went on to win the game against the Kolkata Knight Riders and seal a place in the final.
Batting first Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like finishing with a modest total and giving KKR a massive advantage before Rashid Khan happened. Rashid took apart the KKR bowling line up in the end overs and score a decisive 34 from just 10 balls which took his team to a stiff looking 175.
During the defense as well, KKR got off to a brilliant start and looked like winning the game easily before Kane Williamson threw the ball to his main man. Rashid Khan bowled one of the best spells of this Indian Premier League season, getting 3 wickets in four overs which went for only 19.
His outstanding performance won his side the game by 14 runs and earned him the man of the match award on the night. Rashid has another opportunity, in the final, to magic Sunrisers Hyderabad towards their second title. It has got Kane Williamson, Rashid's captain, very excited.
Talking about the game afterwards, Williamson was quoted saying, "It was a great fighting effort from the lads, game ebbed and flowed. Kolkata are an outstanding side. The game could have gone either way. Credit to the way the boys finished off the first innings to get a competitive total. Game was slipping away a bit at the start, but we knew if we held firm, we could squeeze back in the middle. He (Rashid) was brilliant but he's got another game, so we're going to keep him wrapped up. He's had a great season for us. He was certainly the MoM and he was brilliant,"
Williamson wants his team to forget the game and move on to focus on the all-important final against the Chennai Super Kings. He said, "Important we move on and focus on the final. As a team we fight to the very last ball and we showed that again today. Someone like Rashid is the perfect example. Outstanding talent, but he has a great attitude. Real team effort. That's the attitude we want to see from the Sunrisers outfit,"
He further added, "They [CSK] have been playing good cricket, and they certainly deserve to be in the final. It's a great occasion, something that the guys will be looking forward to. It is about focusing on the next match now, one which the guys are excited about,"
