Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) seemed undeterred by its third defeat on the trot, to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday night. “I think momentum doesn’t matter when any team goes into the qualifiers. Everybody comes well prepared. Right now we have lost three games. We are more aware of the situation. We’ll assess our strengths and weaknesses and come back stronger,” said its opener Shreevats Goswami.
“Yes, Chennai has beaten us twice. Momentum works quite well in the league phase but when it comes to the qualifiers the game on that day becomes important,” the wicket-keeper batsman reasoned.
Looking back he said, “We had a good opening stand but once Kane (Williamson) was out, we got tied up and mustered only 30-odd in the final five overs. I think we were about 15 to 20 runs short. There wasn’t any assistance for spin. So it got easier at the end.”
What of SRH’s ability to defend small totals? “This is our 14th game and other teams are looking at our videos and trying to figure out how to get runs against us. Not everyday can we turn up and defend a small total as we have done in the past. They have watched Rashid (Khan), Shakib (Al Hasan), Sidharth (Kaul) and have come better prepared,” he explained.
“I think the way we bowled the death overs proved to be the turning point of the match,” said KKR’s Shubhman Gill. Looking ahead the talented youngster said, “Obviously we have home advantage playing in Kolkata. We have a better idea of the wicket.”
“We have been getting good starts in almost every match. That gives batsmen coming lower down the order time to score,” he added, accounting for his side’s comfortable victory.
