IPL 2018, SRH v DD: Rishabh Pant heroics were not enough to script victory for Delhi Daredevils. (Source: IPL)
After the tremendous 9-wicket victory for Sunrisers Hyderabad over Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Thursday, SRH pacer Sandeep Sharma defended the bowling performance of his side. With Rishabh Pant smashing 128* in 63 balls, Delhi went on to score 187/5 in 20 overs. Pant smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 26 runs in the final over of their innings but failed to script a victory to victory, as Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson managed to chase down the total in just 18.5 overs.
Speaking to reporters at the press conference after the match, Sharma applauded Pant for his heroics but said that Hyderabad bowlers did not underperform. “Rishabh Pant played really well. He took all our experienced bowlers- Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul to the cleaners. He even scored runs on good deliveries. But the bowlers still performed well as we restricted DD below 200 in spite of Pant’s unbeaten 128*, ” Sharma said.
Talking about the strategies against Pant, Sharma said that they planned to bowl him outside the off-stump, but he managed to score runs on those deliveries as well. “Our plan was to bowl wide outside the off-stump because he generally hits well straight down the ground. However, he came up with strokes like the reverse scoop to negate that. Those kinds of shots do not work always all the time, but it did for him today. It was his day,” the 24-year-old said.
Sharma further talked about the pitch and said that the bowlers found no help from the surface. “There hasn’t been any help in the wicket especially the movement and swing. So it is tough. But we have to improve and take wickets with the new ball,” he said.
The seamer further said that his side need can still make improvements and plan for attacking players like Pant in the coming matches. “Going forward, we need to have plans for players like him. How to get a player like him off-strike or how to minimise the damage that he does. So we’ll discuss that in the remaining matches,” he said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad ensured their qualification in the Playoff rounds with the win, while Delhi Daredevils became the first team to exit from IPL 2018.