Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner heaped praises on Kane Williamson after the New Zealander played a responsible innings following the top-order’s failure during his team’s win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday.
“Kane is our banker. He manages to stick in there and plays the pressure innings,” said Warner in the post-match presentation ceremony at which Williamson was presented the Player of the Match award.
“Batting at No.4 can vary a lot and becomes surface dependent. A few shots from Jason [Holder] helped. The guys have been fighting hard. He is cooler than me. The all-rounder role in the team has been well held by him,” he added.
Kane Williamson was at his usual best on Friday as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the low-scoring Eliminator to book the Qualifier 2 clash with Delhi Capitals in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bowling first, Hyderabad had bundled Virat Kohli’s men for a paltry total of 131/7, thanks to Jason Holder’s 3/25. Natrajan (2/33) and Shahbaz Nadeem (1/30) also contributed to the team’s cause.
Chasing, Sunrisers Hyderabad faced a few problems at the beginning but Williamson’s (50 not-out of 44 balls) gritty knock at the middle ensured their survival. Holder (24 not-out of 20) played a crucial knock with the bat as well.
It seemed RCB has tightened its grip in the contest as SRH endured a mini-collapse. After Warner, the ‘Orange Army’ went on to lose Pandey and Priyam Garg (7) within another 24 runs and were placed at 67/4 in 11.5 overs.
Williamson and Holder then took control of the proceedings, denying the RCB bowlers to make any further inroads. The duo’s brilliant batting in the middle ensured SRH crosses the line in the allotted time.