Virat Kohli scored 43 balls 51 against SRH© BCCI/Sportzpics
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori believes that after mastering the art of setting totals, it is time for his team to hone their chasing skills as the Premier League's business end approaches Indian. SRH are currently third in the table with five wins from eight matches. Of the five wins, four came first. “We managed to put up totals and now we have to look at how far we are chasing,” Vettori said after the 35-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru here on Thursday evening.
RCB posted a tough 206 for 7 after electing to bat and then restricted SRH to 171 for 8.
For a team that has crossed the 250-point mark three times this season, the target was easily achievable, but a rare failure from the top and middle orders cost the hosts dearly.
“Obviously it's disappointing where we've come from over the last four games; we played some really good cricket and even though we lost you could see if we had wickets at the back we would still have “I couldn't chase him down,” Vettori said in the post-match press conference.
“Those first wickets broke everything. We were confident in the scores we could make. We thought 206 was a good score, we probably left a few runs in the field. But there was confidence in the group due to the past.
“We also knew it was the openers and how well they bowled, and today they had a day off and that's cricket,” he said.
The former New Zealand cricketer said there are no easy games in IPL.
“Unfortunately, we didn't get support midway through. It's a tough loss, but we understand that every team in the IPL can beat any team. There are no easy games at all,” Vettori said.
The coach was of the opinion that the role of a presenter was of no importance in high-scoring matches.
“I think the wicket was still pretty good. The guys who came out said it's a surface you can score on. The anchor role when you're chasing 207 is tough to come by, you obviously have to be aggressive .For some, sitting and playing the role of anchor is a bit tricky” RCB all-rounder Swapnil Singh, on the other hand, was relieved after his team ended their six-game losing streak.
“The experience was good but we won the match which was the most important. When you win a match the rhythm in the team changes. It feels good. We missed the last two matches by a small difference but there is still a long way to go,” he said.
Swapnil said that they felt the target was sufficient on this wicket despite the fact that SRH boasted of a super aggressive batting order.
“The ball was stopping. Our main focus was to spin the ball and bowl slower like a fast bowler. That helped, we knew they would come after us hard and obviously they did.
“Yes, we felt it because the wicket also stopped when we batted and the dew was not there,” he said.
Topics mentioned in this article