Shikhar Dhawan had the luxury of having very impressive bowlers to fall back upon in crucial junctures and the Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper is delighted that they did not let him down in the match against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled outstandingly throughout, specially the 18th and 19th overs in the Mumbai’s chase to put a brake on the runs when Kieron Pollard was going hammer and tongs.
Then Irfan Pathan bowled Pollard in the first ball of the 20th over to script the 15-run win.
“It was really tight. Bowlers bowled really well under pressure, especially Irfan and Bhuvi,” Dhawan said after the match, which was his team’s last in the UAE leg.
“I thought of Irfan bowling the last over and getting the main bowlers to pick up the wickets.
“We are getting into the groove now. The pitches here in the UAE have been very nice.”
Rohit Sharma could not give himself a good birthday present as his side suffered its fifth straight defeat.
“We spoke about trying to get wickets and in the last five overs a big score was on the cards, ”said Rohit. “We fielded first because we wanted to see what we needed to chase.”
“We’ve got to win all the games from here on. Let’s see what we can do in home conditions. We just have to stay positive, that’s all I can say.”
“Not a great birthday for me,” he said.
Bhuvneshwar, who took two for 17 in his four overs, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match.
“I was looking to bowl well with the new ball.
“Steyn is mentoring us very well. Against Pollard my plan was to bowl him the yorker. Swing is my strength and that was how I got Rohit,” he said.
