IPL 2021: Still believe there is a small chance to make the playoffs, says SRH's Williamson

The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain feels that his team will have to win all the remaining games in a bid to qualify for the IPL 2021 playoffs.

Published : Sep 20, 2021 18:28 IST

Kane Williamson took over the Sunrisers Hyderabad captaincy from David Warner.
Kane Williamson took over the Sunrisers Hyderabad captaincy from David Warner.
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Kane Williamson took over the Sunrisers Hyderabad captaincy from David Warner.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will resume its Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday as it takes on Delhi Capitals in Dubai. The side was placed at the bottom of the table with just two points when the first leg of the tournament was suspended abruptly in May this year. But as it gears up for the second leg under new captain Kane Williamson, the side still has a lot to play for.

Williamson, who took charge after David Warner’s removal, believes that there is still a ‘small chance’ to make it to the playoffs. “After the first half of the competition, it wasn’t perhaps our best and that hasn’t increased our chances to make the playoffs. But I still believe that there is a small chance, and we have to win pretty much all our games,” Williamson told  Sportstar .

 

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“I think the challenge for us really is coming together as a group and putting up much-improved performances and I think that will give us the best chance to get the right results in games as we know in this competition, all the teams are strong and all the teams can beat each other. It is one of the toughest competitions in the world, it is exciting. But for us, the focus is what is in front of us and what is in our control,” Williamson, who is also the captain of New Zealand, said.

Ahead of the restart, Sunrisers suffered a blow as Jonny Bairstow pulled out of the tournament. And Williamson admits that Bairstow’s absence is a 'bit of a loss' for the team. “Jonny is one of the standout players, so yeah, a bit of a loss for us. Having little bit of time after the first half – naturally it all came to an abrupt end – the guys had a chance to reflect and try and really connect to what’s important for us as a team to put up a performance that we know is collective. It is a team approach that we need to try and execute. That is the focus,” Williamson said.

In the first leg, Sunrisers lost some close contests and ahead of the second leg, Williamson hopes that his team can seal the close contests. “We have seen quite a few close games in the first half and could not quite come out on the right side. It is the nature of the sport. But here we are in a different country, different conditions, so the challenges will be a bit different. We need to try and make the adjustments as quickly as possible and play with some freedom and if possible, get some momentum in the second half of the competition,” he said.

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