Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) delivered a stunning performance in a high-scoring contest and beat Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs at at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday. Ishan Kishan earned the Player of the Match award for his remarkable knock. Speaking after the game, Kishan admitted to initial nerves but credited the team’s support system for his success.
“To be very honest, the nervousness was there; I won’t deny that. Pat and the coach gave a lot of confidence. I just enjoyed my time in the middle. I was practising very hard. The preparation was very good, and I’m feeling confident,” Kishan said. He also highlighted the aggressive intent of his teammates, adding, “You can see Abhishek and Head playing that sort of game, and you get that confidence. Pat and the coach are talking about enjoying and saying, ‘just play your game’.”
Skipper Pat Cummins was thrilled with his side’s performance, particularly given the daunting total they posted. “Unbelievable. We get 280-odd, and it’s scary. You know you’re going to go for runs. You know it’s going to be tough. When you have such a big score, one over can win it for your side. Ishan today was incredible. The preparation has been amazing. Our coaches have been fantastic. Everyone has come fit and firing,” he said.
Bowler Harshal Patel, who finished with figures of 2 for 34, reflected on the team’s bowling execution. “Pretty happy with it, felt we were better with execution barring a few overs. Whatever we planned in the bowlers’ meeting, we were able to execute. When you have 290 on the board, the game becomes easier,” he explained. Patel also noted the evolving nature of T20 cricket, saying, “Mindset of batters has changed significantly in the last couple of years; they’re not afraid to take risks. You have to be on top of your game to execute well.”
On the other side, Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag acknowledged SRH’s dominance while lamenting his team’s execution. “Tough, as I’d expected. Credit to SRH, but we could’ve executed better. We’ll sit down and chat on how we could do better,” he admitted. Reflecting on the bowling effort, he added, “I feel collectively we took the decision to bowl, it was the right decision. We could’ve restricted them a little better. At the toss, I said 200-something like that, 220-240 would’ve been a good score to chase down.”
Despite the loss, Parag found positives in individual performances. “Some of the batters looked really great – Sanju bhaiyya, Shubham, Hettie. With the ball, Tushar, Sandeep – they bowled well. Wins or loss, we take the learnings and forget the result.”
