Sunrisers Hyderabad has a dicey middle-order mainly because all of those players are young and inexperienced. Similarly, they have young pace bowlers too who have hardly played any international cricket. This puts a lot of onus on their Foreign players and a couple of other Indian International players. Their start in this year’s IPL has been less than ordinary and when they met Delhi Capitals at Abu Dhabi yesterday nobody gave them a chance! So how did it unfold?
Here are my 5 point highlights of yesterday’s match.
1. Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada has bowled the maximum number of deliveries in international cricket in the last 18 months than any other fast bowler in the world. He is one of the brightest spots in South African cricket today. Delhi Capitals rely a lot on him because his 4 overs are their insurance cover. Yesterday Rabada was in his true elements. Not only did he take the all-important wickets of Bairstow and Williamson, but he also gave away just 21 runs which were only bettered by Rashid Khan in the match. He kept the batsmen under leash in the power play and kept hitting yorkers at the death.
2. Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra is one of the superstars of IPL. He has taken multiple hattricks and is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He got his chance to play only because of Ashwin’s injury but he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. First, he got rid of the dangerous looking David Warner to break the blossoming opening partnership of SRH and then took Manish Pandey’s wicket who is a very dangerous player in the middle overs. He went for a few runs in the last over but his first 3 overs was too good and the only reason why Delhi Capitals came back into the match. Let’s see if Delhi Capitals keep him in the team or not after Ashwin gets fit.
3. Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson is one of the most loved cricketers in the world. He got more accolades from the cricket community than even Eoin Morgan after the CWC final last year. The way he accepted the defeat and carried himself and his team were awe-inspiring. He is a copybook cricketer but he remodeled his batting in the last few years to perform well in T20 cricket too. He was injured initially but as soon as he got available, SRH slotted him in. They got instant rewards too. 41 off 26 balls with a very healthy strike rate showed us why he is so important in this team. He being the captain of New Zealand helps Warner too in the field. Having a leader of Kane’s caliber within the field is a huge bonus for Warner. Let’s hope that he gets a long run in this IPL.
4. Rashid khan
Afghanistan cricket has grown leaps and bounds over the last decade. One of the best things with their cricket set up is that very young spinners come through their system. Rashid Khan burst through the scene as a 16-year-old. He is just 22 years old but is now considered a cricket veteran. The amount of cricket he plays across the globe has made him an international star of repute. He is the lynchpin in the Sunrisers’ attack and he hardly lets them down. Yesterday the chase for DC was not that steep but it was Rashid who made it look impossible. If you are chasing 160 odd and one of the bowlers give away only 12 runs in 4 overs then the pressure to attack the other bowlers gets huge and that’s what happened to Delhi Capitals yesterday. Add 3 wickets to this miserly figure and you have your man of the match. Rashid Khan showed all his guile yesterday and ensured an easy victory for SRH.
5. T. Natrajan
Natrajan has been doing very well for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit over the last couple of seasons. Many teams bidded for him at the IPL auction. That he was picked ahead of Khaleel Ahmed in the first match showed that the team management thinks pretty highly about him. He has been steady without giving any fantastic returns until now. Yesterday he nailed his Yorkers perfectly. 4 overs – 25 runs – 1 wicket might not look anything great but if you would have seen the 18th over that he bowled you would have known what I am talking about. Bowling yorkers and stopping the batsmen to free his arms is a great art and he did it with perfection yesterday. I am very sure that we will hear a lot about this left-arm pacer in the future.
So Sunrisers Hyderabad got their first points in IPL 2020. The tournament is wide open as always. It was not really a humdinger but then you don’t get nail biters every day. We need the nails to grow up too.
I think Delhi has to move up stoinis up the order as astralia did in his international one day squad…again rishav pant disapointed…sunriser is picking up at right time.. there top 4 can demolish any bowling line up on there given day. Impressed with new j& k player..that’s the beauty of sunriser n rajastan royal that they give chance to these new unheard players a chance.
Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw are going downhill as Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson up their stakes. Samad looks to be a good young player and I hope he gets enough opportunities. With a brilliant top 4 that’s a bit of doubt. I do understand your special love for KKR but to get the record straight KKR has invested heavily in young players like Nitish Rana, Mavi, Nagarkoti, Varun, and of course Shubhman Gill. Let’s see how this pans out.