Head coach Daniel Vettori believes SRH bowlers were 'little rusty' against Punjab Kings

May 20, 2024

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 20 : After his side's four-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Daniel Vettori said the SRH bowlers were rusty at the start of the first inning of the match.
In a video shared on SRH's official social media handle, Vettori said the bowlers made a comeback and gave fight in the last four overs of the first inning.
"Great blowout after sort of 10 days off to come together against a team that was still ready to perform. We were obviously a little rusty with the ball at the start but to fight back in the last 4 overs was incredible," Vettori said.
Speaking about SRH batters Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, the head coach added their performances were exceptional.
"Abhishek and Rahul took the game on to win the powerplay and that is how we have won most of our games, and again that was exceptional. You have to play exceptionally well to chase those big scores," he added.
He further added that they need to stay consistent for their upcoming playoff match, where they will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday.
"Nothing changes when we go into the playoffs. Take the game on, play exactly the same and stay consistent and true to our methods, so, well done boys," he further added.
https://x.com/SunRisers/status/1792417174168228087
Recapping the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to bat first. A hard-hitting half-century from Prabhsimran Singh (71 in 45 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) and knocks from Rilee Rossouw (49 in 24 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and Atharva Taide (46 in 27 balls, with five fours and two sixes) set the tone for a big total, taking PBKS to 214/5 in their 20 overs.
T Natarajan (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers for SRH.
In the run-chase, after losing Travis Head for a duck, Abhishek Sharma (66 in 28 balls, with five fours and six sixes), Nitish Kumar Reddy (37 in 25 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Heinrich Klaasen (42 in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) played fiery knocks to propel SRH to 215/6 in 19.1 overs, winning the game with five balls left.
Arshdeep Singh (2/37) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS.
Abhishek Sharma was the Player of the Match for his quickfire fifty.
SRH is at number two in the points table, with eight wins, five losses, and a no result, with 17 points.