Warner criticizes SRH’s extra cautious batting approach after loss to KKR

Abu Dhabi: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner has criticized the extra cautious approach of his batsmen after they lost their second successive match in the ongoing IPL, saying that team’s lack of ambition through the middle overs cost them the game.

SRH posted only 142 in 20 overs despite being only 4 down at the end of the innings and eventually lost the match by 7 wicket against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

“We could have applied a bit more pressure on the bowlers and tried to hit more boundaries in that middle period.

I’m disappointed more about the dot balls we played - there were about 35-36 dot balls in the middle, which in T20 cricket is not acceptable. I think we need to change our mindset,” Warner said after match.

Warner’s comments referred to the period of play when the duo of Wriddhiman Saha (30 off 31) and Manish Pandey (51 off 38) were at the crease. Their partnership for the third wicket produced 62 runs but failed to take on KKR’s disciplined bowling in the middle overs.

Star Australian opener bemoaned the fact that despite having wickets in hand, the batsmen in the centre didn’t go hard enough as they eventually were 20-30 runs short of what could have been a good score.

“We were probably 20-30 runs short and then it would have been a good game. If you don’t put the right total on board, it’s going be hard to defend,” Warner said.

“We could have hit a little bit harder, taken a few more risks. We just can’t be having batsmen on the bench and just two batsmen batting 20 overs. We played four-five overs for about 20 runs after I got out,” he added.

Warner looked in great touch during his 30-ball 36 innings before getting out to mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

“Obviously, it was a very poor and soft dismissal for myself. We just got excited, pressed the button and started going on. I don’t blame anyone. I take full responsibility for myself for not batting through the overs and getting a soft dismissal,” he said.

With two defeats in two games now, Warner called for a change in mindset heading into their next encounter against in-form Delhi Capitals at the same venue on Tuesday.

“I think we need to change our mindset before we play here again. The boundaries are a tad bigger than what they are in India. We have to work out where we are going to get our boundaries,” he said. (UNI)