IPL 2020: Virender Sehwag surprised by SRH’s approach in defeat against KXIP in Dubai

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag found it tough to comprehend Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) approach in their match against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Saturday, October 24 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Orange Army lost the match by 12 runs, chasing a modest target of 127. SRH were bowled out for 114 one ball short of their 20 overs.

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow’s 56-run stand for the opening wicket off 38 balls put the Sunrisers on the driver’s seat. But after the duo perished in a space of six balls, KL Rahul and Co got a foothold back into the contest. SRH suffered a horrendous collapse, getting reduced from 100 for three in 16 overs to 114 all-out in 19.5 overs.

“I couldn’t understand what SunRisers Hyderabad were trying to do as they lost the match in a run-a-ball situation. Had the target been too much to chase, the loss would still have digested. SRH dug their own grave on the field with such a performance,” Sehwag was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.

SRH were in a very comfortable position to win the match: Sehwag

Sehwag felt that Jason Holder and Rashid Khan, both having captained their national teams- West Indies and Afghanistan- should have taken the onus of guiding SRH past the finishing line. Manish Pandey’s painful 29-ball 15 didn’t help SRH’s cause either.

Vijay Shankar scored 26 runs off 27 balls with four fours. But after he copped a blow on the side of the head, he got out to Arshdeep Singh. Sehwag didn’t mince any words in saying that SRH made a meal of an easy run-chase.

“Someone had to take the responsibility from the front, and it could either have been Manish Pandey or Vijay Shankar, but no one did it. Even Jason Holder and Rashid Khan are the skippers of their respective national teams and thus, they could have batted more responsibly. All the batsmen seemed in a hurry to finish the match,” he stated.

“It’s difficult for people like us to comprehend such a performance. They were in a very comfortable position to win the match as SRH needed only 26 runs in 24 balls. Kings XI Punjab didn’t have such quality bowling line up,” Sehwag added.