Ishan Kishan guides SRH into IPL play-offs with match-winning 70

Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Ishan Kishan said the Chennai pitch was difficult for chasing after his unbeaten 70 guided SRH into the IPL play-offs against Chennai Super Kings. Heinrich Klaasen also praised the aggressive approach and challenging conditions after SRH’s important victory

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad star opener and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, who struck a match-winning 47-ball 70 against Chennai Super Kings to guide the team into the IPL play-offs in Chennai on Monday night, said while keeping wickets he felt that the pitch was not easy.

“I still felt chasing this total was going to be a bit too much because the wicket was not at all easy, especially when the spinners were bowling and those slow balls were coming out very well,” Ishan said at the post-match briefing.

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“But at the same time, as a No. 3 batter, I felt my job was to try and finish the game because batters coming in, especially at the back-end, find it difficult to take singles and score boundaries. So I had to play till the last over,” Ishan said.

“It was just about being there and believing in yourself,” Kishan said. “Sometimes the situation is difficult, but we all know how these games are won because you need to believe in yourself. You cannot doubt yourself at any point in time,” said Ishan, one of the most consistent batters this season for SRH.

“So I was just trying to keep it simple and bat as many overs as I could because, being a left-hander in the middle, it is difficult for the bowlers to keep their areas right every time.”

At the other end, Heinrich Klaasen, who scored a 26-ball 47 to move to the top of the table with 555 runs, said after blocking the first couple of balls, he realised he could not play cautiously on that wicket.

“I needed to be aggressive on this wicket, and it went my way tonight. So yeah, I’m happy with the way I’m striking the ball. Hopefully it continues for the rest of the competition,” he said.

“The pitch stayed low. When we bowled, the cutters looked a lot slower and stayed quite low, and when they bowled, it skidded on nicely, but it was a little up and down. It’s one of the better Chennai wickets that I’ve played on, but yeah, it’s not an easy place to come and play cricket,” Klaasen concluded.