Hyderabad: Having lost regular captain David Warner to the ball tampering scandal but getting Sunrisers Hyderabad off to a winning start — a thumping nine-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals on Monday night — captain Kane Williamson was indeed sporting a wide grin. “It was nice to come out play really well as a team. It is important that we need to improve on this performance for the next game,” the New Zealander said after the game.
Then there were obvious questions revolving around Warner. However, the Kiwi was composed. “It’s a big loss for us as a unit but we look to work together as a team. We look to build on that and move forward together,’’ he said.
Williamson was all praise for opener Shikhar Dhawan who stroked an unbeaten 77 as SRH chased down a lowly 125 with much to spare. “T20 cricket requires aggressive cricket and Shikhar has been in good space for quite some time and he has been in good form last year. He has done superbly for India. He kept the pressure on bowlers and hit the ball cleanly. He is good to watch,’’ the captain said.
He was happy with the spinners in the mix as well. “They (Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan) are very experienced in this format and were very aggressive. They picked up wickets which was very helpful to us. We do have a strong bowling attack and they executing it perfectly,’’ Williamson said.
The captain also had a few good words for newbie Billy Stanlake. “He is a tall guy and bowls very quick. He balances the attack nicely. He complements other bowlers.”
So also Siddharth Kaul. “He burst on the scene last year and he was looking forward for any opportunity. It was a long time coming and he was an outstanding performer for Sunrisers. He is a very consistent bowler and a very good ‘death’ bowler. Today he was an extension of that,’’ Williamson said.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane agreed. “I think he changed his pace really well. He was bowling, hitting the length hard and that was the key aspect,’’ he said of Kaul.
However, Rahane rued the lack of a partnership in the Royals innings. “We thought on this wicket, 150-160 would have been ideal total because ball was doing a bit and was helpful for the mediumpacers. I think we lost crucial wickets in between, where partnership was the key,” he said.
