New Delhi: After Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their three-match losing streak in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a nine-run win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, batting coach Hemang Badani stated that the time Heinrich Klaasen and Abdul Samad were at the crease, the message sent to the duo was to look for a boundary in every over.
At the halfway stage, Hyderabad were 83/4, despite amassing 62/2 in Power-play. But Klassen made an unbeaten 53 off 27 balls while sharing a 53-run standoff 33 balls with Samad, who made 28 off 21 balls, as the 2016 IPL champions took 62 runs off the last five overs to post an imposing 197/6, enough to grab two points.
“The message was quite clear — in this format, you have to keep striking. The message was to keep looking at a boundary and an over, keep looking at probably about 8 (runs) an over at that point maybe for the next 2-3 overs.”
“And we’ve always seen that on a pitch like this, which at times is lower and slower, a lot of the spinners come into play. The message was maybe just smart about how you handle Axar (Patel) and Kuldeep (Yadav), but wait for the seamers, (as) you’ll have a lot of runs when the seamers come back into play,” said Badani in the post-match press conference.
Apart from praising Klassen, Badani also appreciated Samad for being the perfect partner in a decisive partnership.
“Full marks to Klaasen and full marks even to Samad. Samad came through a tough phase — there was enough conversation about him not finishing the game against Mumbai. But I thought he batted beautifully. He showed a lot of common sense, he showed a lot of courage.”
“And Klaasen, we’ve seen him in a lot of matches in the past and even for us he’s been batting at a number which I think is the toughest number two bat in T20 cricket — at 6 and 7. I think he was just fabulous (in the match).”
Badani also liked the intent shown by Hyderabad batters despite Mitchell Marsh taking a four-fer.
“I think probably just for the second time in the entire season we have got about 60 (62 runs) on the board in the powerplay. I’m pretty pleased with the target that we put on the board. If you look at other teams as well if a team posts a good target, not all of their five batters score runs. It’s always two or three batters standing up.”
Badani signed off by saying it is a matter of time before their big signings Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal will come good with the bat after being unable to put in a substantial contribution in New Delhi.
“It’s a question of momentum, it’s about getting back in touch. I’m a firm believer that it’s a question of one knock in the middle then it falls back into the picture. I genuinely believe Harry will be one of the biggest names in world cricket.”
“Mayank has been there for many years. He’s led Punjab (Kings, in the IPL). Somebody of his stature, he just needs a bit of nudging here and there, fine-tuning and it’s a question of time. He’s not out of touch, he’s a serious player.”
Hyderabad’s next match in IPL 2023 will be against Kolkata Knight Riders at their home ground in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.
–IANS