Kolkata: Sunrisers Hyderabad veteran pacer Ashish Nehra said their batsmen could have played spin better and the turning point of the match was Kolkata Knight Riders’ Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine’s spells during their match here on Saturday.
Hyderabad lost by 17 runs chasing 173 as Kuldeep got the key wicket of skipper David Warner, who looked set on 26, and Narine sent Deepak Hooda back in the hut, more importantly stemming the flow of runs with figures of 4-0-23-1. The defending champions will have to quickly regroup for their next match on Monday — against Kings XI Punjab at home.
“The turning point of this game was the spell of Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine,” Nehra told reporters after the game.
“We could have played spin better. On this wicket, fast bowlers were easy to bat against specially with the old ball. So if we could have played spin better it would have been a different result,” added the 37-year-old left armer.
Nehra said the margin of defeat might look huge in T20 cricket but a couple of lusty hits could have turned the tide in their favour.
“I still feel as a bowler we could have conceded 10-12 runs less. But ifs and buts will always be there in T20. On this ground, 170 on this wicket could have been made. We were 15 odd runs short and in T20 the margin is big, but if you look at it another way two hits and you are there.”
Nehra was effusive in praise for seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/20) who was brilliant on the day.
“He has been doing well. Earlier people used to think Bhuvi is only new ball bowler. That is not true. Since I play only T20 cricket, he and (Jasprit) Bumrah are doing really well,” he said.
“He is one of the best death bowlers. In this tournament back to back two three games he has bowled really well. From here on, he will improve. He is a hard working guy.”
