Crucial dismissals cost Sunrisers Hyderabad the match, says Daniel Vettori

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori said losing wickets at crucial moments cost his team the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. He credited KKR’s performance and stressed the importance of regaining momentum in the upcoming games

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori felt his team lost wickets at crucial junctures and the manner in which it happened had an impact as Kolkata Knight Riders scored an emphatic win at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.

Speaking to the media after the match, Vettori, at the same time, credited KKR for a very good performance.

---

“We lost the wickets of Head, Klaasen and Ishan at crucial junctures of the game,” he said.

“Yes, we were up against two classy spinners in Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine on a wicket which did hold up a bit more, probably because of the softness of the ball,” Vettori said.

Reflecting on Nitish Kumar Reddy’s absence, the SRH head coach said that the all-rounder was sick for the last two days and that he did try his best by warming up before the game to play. “But it was obviously very difficult for him to be out there. He is an incredibly crucial part of our combination,” Vettori said.

“Well, losing games is always hard and it is imperative for us to regain the winning momentum and in that context, the next game against Punjab Kings is a most important one for us,” he said.

On SRH bowling, Vettori said that the attack was up against quality batters who rotated the strike pretty well and it was incredibly difficult to defend such a small total (165).

For his part, KKR’s star batter of the evening Angkrish Raghuvanshi said he just wanted to live in the moment when he walked out there in the middle after a splendid powerplay with Finn Allen hitting all around.

“The pitch was the same in both the innings. So, we were ready to do whatever possible to win the game,” he said.

On Varun and Narine, Raghuvanshi said the former had a tough start and came back very strongly and it is almost impossible to hit him if he finds the rhythm.

“And, well, Narine has been dominating for years and years, an amazing bowler, and we hope he keeps doing it,” he said.