IPL 2018: We Would have Wanted 20 More Runs - Kane Williamson

A packed Mumbai crowd witnessed a scintillating contest between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The qualifier one of the 2018 IPL edition turned out to be a close affair. Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers Hyderabad went down fighting by two wickets.

Sunrisers lost Shikhar Dhawan on the very first ball of the game. They went on to lose one more in the face of Shreevats Goswami, who opened the innings. Skipper Kane Williamson couldn’t do much and perished for 24 off 15 balls. The Orange army found themselves in deep trouble at one stage.

With six wickets down for 88 runs, it seemed like a one-sided contest is on the cards. But, all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite stood up when it mattered the most. The right-hand batsman made 43 off 29 balls to take his side to 139/7.

The Windies hitter smacked four sixes and a boundary. But all his efforts went in vain, as Faf du Plessis played one of the most vital knocks of the league for Chennai and helped them enter the finals of IPL season 2018.

Williamson on the loss

Post the two-wicket loss, Williamson said they were probably 20 runs short at the end. He also said they couldn’t execute the plan too well.

“We were too short with the bat, and it was actually a decent surface. We would’ve wanted 20 more. The game did swing our way, and bowlers were outstanding, but we didn’t quite execute it like in the past. Hopefully, we can cross the line in Kolkata and come back here.” said the Kiwi cricketer.

“We do back our death bowlers, but it wasn’t to be today. Credit to CSK’s lower order. It’s important that we learn from this and take it to our next match. Faf played a beautiful knock and credit to the way they scrapped it. We got a bit of hard work to do, but we’ll do it one over at a time.” added the skipper.