Hyderabad have a fragile middle-order but captain David Warner says Kane Williamson adds depth to the batting.
After defeating Delhi Capitals by 15 runs, SunRisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner praised Rashid Khan for delivering a match-winning performance even when there was a lot of pressure on him.
The match between Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad was played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and the David Warner-led Hyderabad defeated Delhi Capitals by 15 runs as they defended a total of 162.
Delhi Capitals was chasing 162, but they were restricted to just 147/7 as Rashid Khan returned with the figures of 3-14 from his quota of four overs.
"I think putting runs on the board, batting first was good, we lost the toss so obviously we had to bat first. I think Delhi bowled really well in the powerplay, they restricted me and Jonny. They executed really well in the powerplay, they had good fields for us. All in all, we had a good game like the way we approached it in the middle with Williamson coming, credit to our bowlers as well, especially the way they bowled in the middle," he added.
Batting first, SRH had posted a total of 162/4 in the allotted twenty overs. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner had put on an opening stand of 77 runs. Warner played a knock of 45 runs while Bairstow played an innings of 53 runs.
Kane Williamson also chipped in with a knock of 41 runs to take SRH's total past the 160-run mark. For Delhi, Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with the figures of 2-21 from his four overs.
"We were on track to get 170-180, there is talk of our middle order of not being that good, but we put our game together against Delhi and we backed ourselves, we played fluently and we got ourselves a good total. We had to take wickets early, we held our nerve and we bowled really well. If we get our top-four right in the batting order, I back our bowlers to come up with the good," said Warner.
In the match against Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir's Abdul Samad was also given a game for SunRisers Hyderabad and talking about his inclusion, Warner said: "We needed someone at the backend, Nabi was unfortunate to miss out, Nabi can hit long shots at the backend, so we needed to bring in Samad, he can bowl leg-spin as well and he is a good power hitter. We knew what he is capable of, I have seen him hit a long ball and I was very impressed. Samad is training well and he is doing everything we are asking from him.
"It is great to give these young guys an opportunity because where else to show your talent when you can do it against the world's best. You need to have that belief that you can do well. These youngsters are always keen to learn and they are picking our brains. The great thing about the youth is the enthusiasm and passion. We want to play with freedom. Let them play calm and clear,” Warner said.
During his brief stay in the middle, Samad smashed a six and a four to remain unbeaten on 12.
Samad remained unbeaten on Hyderabad as he played an innings of 12 runs and he also managed to hit one six off the bowling of Anrich Nortje.
Left-arm pacer T Natarajan was also impressive, taking a wicket in the death and finishing with figures of 1 for 25 off his four overs.
SunRisers Hyderabad will next take on Chennai Super Kings on October 2 while Delhi Capitals will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders on October 3.
