David Warner said that he along with opener Wriddhiman Saha decided to attack Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje upfront and that move paid dividends as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Delhi Capitals by 88 runs to stay alive in IPL 2020.
Asked to bat first, Warner and Saha gave SRH a blazing start with both openers scoring match-winning fifties. Riding on the fine start, Sunrisers posted a mammoth 219/2 and then came back strongly with the ball to bowl out Delhi for 131.
Warner made a 34-ball 66, while Saha nearly missed a century as he crafted a 45-ball 87.
"The game before, we were disappointed with that chase. We defended last game, and with two world-class bowlers in Nortje and Rabada we decided to go after it. I went a little 2009 and opened my front leg to take it on. I took a bit of responsibility at the top of the order, and take it to the bowlers. It's tough to play orthodox cricket in these conditions, so I have to open up 360 degrees," Warner said.
The skipper heaped praise on Rashid Khan, who took 3/7 and played an important role.
"As for Rashid, it is incredible that he's he's taking so many wickets and not going for runs, especially given the dew and the moisture here. We've got games at Sharjah to go so hopefully we can put on a show there," he added.
Man-of-the-Match Saha said that he is happy as he grabbed the opportunity and helped the team win.
"I got the opportunity for the second time this year and took my chances in the powerplay. Initially, the ball was holding a bit but I took my chances and went after it after the pitch eased out. I'm happy I got selected for the Tests in Australia. We are looking forward to win the last two matches for the Sunrisers and that's our target now," Saha said.
Losing skipper Shreyas Iyer conceded that it was a huge loss for the team as Delhi slipped to the third position.
"Definitely a big loss, but you can't get bogged down at this point of time. We still have two games. One win is all we need - we've been waiting for that since the last three games. This loss is definitely going to motivate us. I think we lost it in the powerplay itself, when they got 70 plus runs. I think we need to have a strong and positive mindset. These loses are no going to put us down," Iyer said.
Delhi next faces Mumbai Indians and then Royal Challengers Bangalore and needs to win at least one to enter the playoffs.
"We've been doing amazing before these three matches, and it shouldn't get to our heads. Any team can surprise any team in this tournament. You can't underestimate anyone, especially at the business end of the tournament. RCB is a good team but we must also remember we've beaten them before," he added.
Rashid bowled a brilliant spell registering figures of 4-0-7-3 and said that the wicket helped him register his best figures in this IPL.
"Winning the game was the most important. The wicket was helping a lot. What I'm mainly focusing on is to bowl economically, whether I get wickets or not. Dot balls help me to get wickets and it also helps the other end to get wickets.
"I just go with a clear mind, that's my biggest strength - I want to bowl a good line and length, no matter the situation. You have to mix up and play with the batsman's mind, and see the weak zone and strong zone of the batsman as well. So I keep those things in mind."
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