Former Indian seam bowler Madan Lal has questioned the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) team management for not including Kane Williamson in their playing XI against Kolkata Knight Riders game. KKR won by seven wickets as SRH were defeated twice in back-to-back games. They lost their first game against RCB by 10 runs.
Lal made this observation while reviewing the Hyderabad-based franchise’s successive defeat in their second IPL 2020 encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during a discussion on Sports Talk.
Madan Lal: KKR Bowlers And Batsmen Played Exceedingly Well And Criticised SRH Batsmen For Getting Dismissed At Critical Juncture
Madan Lal appreciated all the KKR bowlers especially pacer experienced Pat Cummins and debutant for KKR and playing in only his 2nd match spinner Varun Chakravarthy for restricting SunRisers Hyderabad to a below-par score of 142/4.
“All the KKR bowlers bowled very well. Cummins bowled extremely well and Varun Chakravarthy, their freak leg-spinner or whatever we can call him, he also bowled extremely well. So, if we see overall 142 was not such a good score.”
He also praised about how opener Shubman Gill and England skipper Eoin Morgan on managing the run chase and took their team to victory.
“I would like to praise Shubman Gill and Eoin Morgan because they read the situation and batted according to that and won KKR the match. That is how you become big players when you win your team the match in such situations.”
While talking about the SunRisers Hyderabad batting effort, Madan Lal pointed out that Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey could not take the team to a match-winning score despite being set as batsmen.
“When you talk about Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey, that is the difference between them and Jonny Bairstow and Warner. When the latter two play, they play match-winning innings. Manish Pandey made very good runs, no doubt about that, but he did not take his team to a situation where they could win the match.”
The 1983 World Cup-winning pacer criticised the duo for getting dismissed at a crucial juncture leaving the team in a spot of bother.
“Both are international players, they were required to take their team to a score where they could have fought. Getting out at a critical stage and getting the team stuck causes the most problems.”
SRH opened with David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. Manish Pandey played a valiant knock of 51 off 38 balls but Wriddhiman Saha and David Warner found going tough and gave away their wickets when they were set. Jonny Bairstow played 10 balls to score five runs while Wriddhiman Saha and David Warner played more than 30 balls to score 30 and 36 runs respectively.
Madan Lal Wants SunRisers Hyderabad To Play Kane Williamson Instead Of Mohammad Nabi
Madan Lal responded that the Black Caps captain should play ahead of Mohammad Nabi on being asked if SunRisers Hyderabad should not field Kane Williamson in their playing XI and who should make way to include him in playing 11.
“First of all, I will keep Nabi out. Because they need a batsman instead of him.”
He also questioned the SunRisers Hyderabad coaches for not being able to select a balanced team despite having a bunch of quality foreign players in the squad.
“They have such great coaches, they have got so many foreigners from outside, they should know what is required when making a team.”
Madan Lal concluded by stating that Kane Williamson is a dependable batsman who would not let the team down in pressured crunched situations.
“Kane Williamson is a very sensible batsman, he knows how to run the game. He is not like others who will leave you in the lurch in the middle.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad probably missed an opportunity against KKR by not sending all-rounder Mohammad Nabi up the batting order, considering his terrific form in the recently concluded CPL. Although they could opt to play New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson instead of the Afghanistan all-rounder if the former is fit to play, it would reduce the options in their bowling attack.