Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Shikhar Dhawan had every reason to have a big smile on his face as he asked his players to play like warriors and they responded to the call in the best possible manner.
Hyderabad defended a modest 134 for nine by bowling out Rajasthan for 102.
“We didn’t have too many runs, so I said it was up to us if we played like warriors or losers. The boys really responded really well,” Dhawan said after a crucial 32-run win at Sardar Patel stadium.
Dhawan said conditions too helped his bowlers, specially the spinners. “The wicket turned, especially Mishra turned the ball and also Karn,” he said.
Young paceman Bhuvneshwar recorded his best IPL performance as he took four wickets for 14 runs to be adjudged Man of the Match.
“Since coming into T20s, I have improved a lot in the death overs. Swing has always been my strength and I am also working hard on it. The seam position is my strength in the early overs,” he said.
Rajasthan skipper Shane Watson said they were still not familiar with the conditions and paid the price for that. The Australian also had words of praise for Hyderabad bowlers.
“We bowled extremely well. But more than anything, we misread the conditions a bit. I take the full responsibility for that as a captain. We are learning about these conditions, will get better. There weren’t too many bad shots, just that the high-quality balls. They have world-class bowlers,” he said.
Meanwhile, SRH’s Irfan Pathan said they needed to bat well in the future matches.
“We just need the batting to click; otherwise our bowling is working really well. It’s a different role for me in Sunrisers. I don’t get the new ball but I try to contribute in the middle and death overs,” he said.
