Abu Dhabi: It was below-par batting that let his side down in the four wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Shikhar Dhawan feels.
Dhawan stuck around but failed to get the scoreboard ticking as freely as he would have liked after his side suffered an early jolt in Aaron Finch.
“We lost a wicket in the first over and then we had to build a partnership. We were in a bit of pressure. Once you have a good start then you can consolidate. Myself and Warner did have a partnership but we both got out after getting set,” said Dhawan, who top scored for his side with 34-ball 38.
Warner managed 32 but was far from his self. Lokesh Rahul and Venugopal Rao were the only other batsmen to reach the double figures in Hyderabad’s modest total of 133 for 6 in 20 overs.
“I think had one of us played more overs, we could have posted good total. In the end we were short of 20 to 30 runs,” Shikhar, who had a forgettable World T20 and ended up on the bench, said. It was the second match of the day on the same wicket that saw Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab amass over 400 runs.
“It was a bit cooler in the evening and the track had a bit of grass on it. It started seeming and helped the medium pacers. Amit Mishra bowled really well and got turn. When they were hitting the ball, they were a bit lucky. Couple of inside edges went for boundaries and the momentum went their way,” he added.
