Sunrisers Hyderabad became the first franchise to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2018, but a hat-trick of losses at the hands of CSK, RCB and KKR had hurt their momentum going into the next round.
They would be facing the second-placed Chennai Super Kings later on Tuesday in the Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
However, team mentor, VVS Laxman who has been associated with the team for a long time has insisted the team will not be affected by these three losses.
The absence of David Warner who was banned just before the IPL was a massive hole at the top of the batting line up and as a leader too. But New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson came to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s aid and had shown the team the way forward.
His performance has also outshone the others, as he has scored more than 600 runs this season.
On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s bowlers have been equally brilliant and have been the primary reason for SRH to finish at the top of the points table.
Talking about the momentum, team mentor VVS Laxman said,
“Ideally, Sunrisers Hyderabad would have loved to have gone into the playoffs with greater momentum, but we won’t be unduly perturbed with three consecutive losses. We know the areas we need to improve in but, as we have stressed throughout the season, our focus has been on the processes rather than the outcome. We will take the positives from our campaign which netted us nine wins and the top position on the table,”
“While it is nice that the reward for our consistency is two bites at the cherry in our bid to make the final, we won’t dwell too much on it. We will reflect on what we did well when we won those nine matches, and attempt to replicate them against Chennai, who are a formidable team, but far from invincible. Personally, I am excited at what lies ahead over the next week.”
Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS for BCCI
Laxman also rated this as the most intensely and eagerly contested IPL over the years. He said,
“Wrist-spinners, in particular, have had a wonderful time, but there has been reward for variety and versatility. It is also very heartening to see young Indian talent come to the fore because, after all, that is one of the objectives of the IPL. At the same time, men like Kane Williamson and MS Dhoni have reiterated the virtues of experience and composure, and it is no surprise that it is teams headed by these two giants that top the qualification race,”
VVS also added the playoffs are about the mental toughness.
“Whatever has happened till now, however, will hold little meaning over the final week of the competition. It now all boils down to hunger and desire, but also calmness under pressure coupled with an attacking mindset. In a knockout situation, it isn’t merely about the skills you possess, but also how you react under pressure. The stakes have got massive all of a sudden,”
