‘I enjoy playing long innings’
HYDERABAD: Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Shikhar Dhawan (77 not out), who played a match-winning knock in the fourth match against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match, said he enjoys playing long innings as it benefits him and the franchise.
Chasing a paltry 126 run on Monday, hosts Hyderabad overhauled the target with over four overs remaining, thanks to Dhawan and skipper Kane Williamson's knocks.
"I enjoy playing long innings. It benefits the team, it benefits me. Trying to stretch the good form as long as possible and score big runs for as long as I can," Dhawan said after the match on Monday.
"I've been playing more aggressively since South Africa series and the Sri Lanka series, and not just in this IPL. So I'm just continuing with that formula, and I'm happy with it," Dhawan added. The 32-year-old also said the nine-wicket win over Rajasthan will give momentum to his side for the rest of the meet.
"We have a very balanced team, which is the strength of our side. We have started the tournament on a good note, and hopefully that'll help us and give us the momentum for the rest of the tournament," Dhawan expressed.
Meanwhile, commenting on Dhawan's knock, Williamson (36 not out), who also played a crucial role in the match, said: "I had the best seat in the house, he (Dhawan) hit it really well. The intent was great from ball one." "Saha also showed intent from the start. Hopefully we can keep it up in the coming games as well," he concluded. SYDNEY: Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins today was added to the growing list of injured players in the IPL after he was ruled out of the T20 league with a recurring back injury.
Cummins was bought by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 5.4 crore. He joins his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc in the list of injured players who will not take part in the IPL.
The others are Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Coulter-nile and Kedar Jadhav, who suffered a hamstring injury in Chennai Super King's opening match against Mumbai Indians.
Cummins has a history of back issues and he went through a busy international season playing 13 consecutive Tests for Australia.
He picked up the injury during the fourth Test between Australia and South Africa. JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Wednesday.
Both Royals and Daredevils were outplayed in their opening games and will be itching to bounce back.
Daredevils were severely hit by KL Rahul's fastest fifty against Kings XI Punjab, losing in Mohali by six wickets.
Royals, on the other hand, could never cope with the bowling might of Sunrisers Hyderabad and went down by nine wickets in Hyderabad on Monday. It was a rather forgettable opening for the hosts who are making a comeback in the tournament after serving a two-year suspension.
Skipper Anjikya Rahane too would like to forget the outing where he failed with the bat, missed a sitter in slips and also gambled with batting only to see a complete rout of his team.
The comfort zone of playing at home may give the desired dose of much needed confidence but the cracks exposed against Sunrisers need to be addressed quickly.
The batting order in absence of Steve Smith looked brittle, the overseas players including Ben Stokes looked shaky against the spinners and the bowlers lost heart once the batsmen could put only 125 on the board. Barring a 49 by Sanju Samson, none of other the batsmen showed any confidence nor they could build any partnerships.