IPL 13: Williamson doing job for us at number four, says Trevor Bayliss

Oct 14, 2020

Dubai [UAE], October 14 : After stumbling to a 20-run loss against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), SunRisers Hyderabad head coach Trevor Bayliss said that there is an argument to play Kane Williamson at number three, but currently the Kiwi skipper is doing the job while batting at number four.
David Warner-led SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) failed to chase down the target of 168, after being reduced to 147/8. For SRH, Kane Williamson top-scored after playing a knock of 57 runs, while for CSK, Karn Sharma and Dwayne Bravo scalped two wickets each.
"We have got some good young players in our lineup who are trying to get the experience. We are certainly top-heavy with the batters, we have done well in the past after scoring runs in the top-order. But certainly, we bought some good young players and we are trying to give them as much experience. They do not have as much experience as some of the players have in other teams. We are trying as much as possible," Bayliss said at the post-match press conference.
"Look, there is an argument for playing Williamson higher up the order, obviously he is a high-quality player, currently he is doing the job for us at number four and hopefully bat with some of the young guys in the lower middle order. His experience can help out the younger players. He is a very good player, if he bats at number three, he can play bigger knocks but playing at number four is his role right now," he added.
Batting first, CSK posted a total of 167/6 in the allotted twenty overs. Shane Watson top-scored for the MS Dhoni-led side as he played a knock of 42 runs.
"Well, I think most of the teams have been batting first after winning the toss especially here in Dubai. I think the wickets have been used now two-three times. Those winning the toss here will definitely bat first. It was pleasing to see Sandeep bowling so well upfront, he was outstanding in the first three overs he bowled. We felt the wicket was a lot drier so we went in with an extra spinner. I do not think we bowled particularly well against Sam Curran for a couple of overs," Bayliss said.
"Obviously, Nadeem coming in and playing his first game, he did pretty well. Sandeep getting some confidence going ahead in the tournament orders well for us, he has got his confidence back, Williamson keeps scoring runs, he is pretty consistent. It's not that often that both Warner and Bairstow will miss out. We expect Warner and Bairstow to make their fair share of runs going forward and if that happens, we will put a good score on the board," he added.
Ambati Rayudu and Sam Curran also got among the runs for CSK as they played knocks of 41 and 31 respectively. For this match against SRH, CSK changed its opening partnership, and the management sent in Curran as an opener instead of Watson.
In the end, Ravindra Jadeja played a quickfire cameo of 25 runs off just 10 balls. For SRH, Sandeep Sharma was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 2-19 from his four overs.
CSK will next take on Delhi Capitals on October 17 while SRH will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on October 18.
SRH is at fifth place in the points table while CSK is at sixth position.