SRH need to give support to lone warrior Williamson
HYDERABAD: Defending a sub-120 total in T20 cricket is no small task. Sunrisers Hyderabad achieved the rare feat in IPL 2018 when they dismissed Mumbai Indians for 87 in an away game on Tuesday. It was only the fourth time in IPL that a team defended a less than run-a-ball total. While it speaks volumes of the bowling depth of SRH, the excitement surrounding the achievement fails to hide the former champions’ one weak link — their batting.
Against Kings XI Punjab on Thursday, the Kane Williamson led side’s ailing batting line-up may again be prodded with some tough questions. The last time the two teams faced, Chris Gayle thundered with a 63-ball 104 as SRH failed to chase a 194-run target. In their six matches so far, SRH have chased on five occasions. They won three of those games with the target below
150. On the two occasions the target was above 150, the 2016
champions lost. As the two teams gear up for another clash, with KXIP on a four-match winning run, SRH batsmen would hope to complement their bowlers’ good work. Despite the thrilling win against Mumbai, one can’t miss the fact that SRH were all out for 118. Captain Williamson has been the lone consistent performer with the bat for SRH, with three half-centuries so far, while the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey are yet to do justice to their reputations. The KXIP side is loaded with big-hitters from Gayle to KL Rahul to Aaron Finch. Though Gayle missed their previous engagement against Delhi Daredevils with a sore muscle, even then KXIP’s batting looks solid. And to give them a fitting reply, only bowlers’ good show may not be enough.