IPL 2019: SRH coach Tom Moody defends Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance against KKR

The Sunrisers Hyderabad team was stunned in their opening match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against the Kolkata Knight Riders, as Andre Russell slammed 49* and helped KKR get the required 50 plus runs in the last three overs, to win the match from an impossible situation.

One bowler who came into the radar of Russell’s firing was SRH captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who despite going for just 37 runs in four overs, went for 21 runs in the penultimate over getting hit for 2 sixes and 2 fours by Russell. This meant that KKR had 13 runs to get in the last over, which Russell got with ease.

Tom Moody defends Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s long-time coach Tom Moody has defended under-fire Bhuvneshwar saying that it was just one over from one of the best death overs bowlers in IPL history and it will be too harsh to judge him on basis of that one over. Moody also touched upon the topic of the return of regular captain Kane Williamson in the team, as he missed the first match due to his recovery time for a shoulder injury suffered against Bangladesh in New Zealand.

“It is too harsh to judge Bhuvi (pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar) on the basis of one bad over. It was exceptional bowling till 17 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders. We failed in our execution of plans in the closing overs. But there is no need to read too much into that over when Andre Russell scored those runs in Kolkata. It was power-hitting and he did it against Punjab too. But you should remember we got him cheaply quite a few times earlier,” Moody said leading into the game against RR.

Speaking about the return of Williamson in front of the home crowd in Hyderabad, Moody was very optimistic. “It is always a joy to play in front of home crowds with the Orange Army supporting us in a big way. There has been a dramatic increase in the fan base and it lifts the energy levels of the players. We will see how he responds tomorrow morning,” he stated.

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