Kane Williamson could not have asked for a better captaincy debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His first game as Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper was against Rajasthan Royals – one of the strongest teams on the paper. However, the Hyderabad-based outfit thoroughly dominated the game and won it subsequently by nine wickets.
Sent in to bat first, the Royals kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. As a result, they could manage only 125 for nine in their 20 allotted overs. Sanju Samson was the only notable contributor with 49.
In reply, the Hyderabad-based franchise reached the target inside 16 overs. They were off to a poor start as Wriddhiman Saha was out for just 5. However, Shikhar Dhawan (77) and Williamson (36) stitched together an unbeaten partnership to take their team home.
Speaking after the game, Williamson expressed his delight over leading the team.
“It was a great opportunity,” said Williamson.
He also said that the team should not get carried away after just one game.
“Feel fortunate to be able to do it. Saying that, obviously, David is a huge part of this team and is a fantastic performer (and) has led the team superbly well. There are some changes this year but it was nice to come out and play really well as a team. It’s important we improve and build on our performance for the next game,” Wiliamson asserted.
Williamson impressed one and all with his captaincy. He rotated his bowlers smartly which did not allow the Royals’ batsmen to settle down.
Interestingly, the two spinners – Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan, never operated at the same through the innings.
When asked if it was a conscious decision, Kane Williamson said,
“It was just a matter of balance and how things were unfolding. You make these decisions at the time and hope they are the best decisions to make. Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t, but we do have a strong bowling attack and the guys executed very well today.”
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