Daniel Vettori confident in SRH’s ability to defend and chase

Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Daniel Vettori says his team is confident of both defending and chasing on home tracks. With Pat Cummins set to return later this month, SRH will rely on Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jaydev Unadkat against Lucknow Super Giants

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori says his team has a good track record in defending on what has traditionally been high-scoring tracks at home.

Speaking to the media on the eve of the IPL league match against Lucknow Super Giants here on Saturday, Vettori said the team also enjoyed chasing.

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“So, I think you want to be at that stage as a group where you can be equally confident, no matter what the situation is. And to be the first team this season to defend a score gives us a lot of confidence because most teams want to chase. I think every toss that has been won so far has led to a team bowling first,” he explained, referring to the last game’s big win against Kolkata Knight Riders.

“It is important for us that we can do both things well. And I think our batting group has the ability to adapt to both,” he said.

“We thought JD (left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat) with the new ball was pretty important. So that was our mindset, that we just wanted to give ourselves a different look,” Vettori said. “Yes, I think Harshal Patel will play an important part in the season. But at this stage, that is the balance we are after,” he added.

Referring to Aussie fast bowling great Pat Cummins, who is missing the early games this season, Vettori said that as part of his schedule he has to undergo a scan on April 15. “All is going well with him because he has trained with us and looked really good,” he said. “So, he will rejoin the team and have a slow build-up to hopefully play in a game towards the end of April,” Vettori said.

Reflecting on all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s fine showing against KKR, Vettori said he was one of those cricketers who wanted to be involved in everything.

“The good thing for him is that he can bowl at any stage of the game. So we can mix and match when the best time to use him is, depending on the opponent and the conditions,” he said.