Ambati Rayudu of CSK celebrates his 50 runs against SRH. (Source: PTI)
Man of the match Ambati Rayudu, who smashed a century during Chennai Super Kings’ match against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad, said after the match that Shane Watson has been a great help to him and that opening is a good position to bat.
Rayudu scored his maiden hundred in the IPL as Chennai Super Kings produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets. He said, “It’s a good position to bat (opening) in T20s. I am enjoying it right now. There’s no secret. We are backing ourselves and communicating very well (about batting with Watson). He has been of great help to me. I was ready to open. If you are good at 4-day cricket, you can bat at any position. I am really happy to be back in the Indian team, hopefully, I will do well there.”
Skipper MS Dhoni also praised Rayudu after the match saying that he is someone who does not look like a big hitter but almost clears the field every time he plays the big shot. “Even before IPL started I had to make space for Rayudu, because he is somebody I rate very highly. He can play both the fast bowlers and spinners very well. Most teams look to exploit the opener with spin bowling. He is someone who doesn’t look like a big hitter but almost clears the field every time he plays the big shot,” he said.
“I thought the ball will swing more in the second half than what it did for us. The swing was not there, that was a surprise. We got off to a good start. Watson and Rayudu hit boundaries whenever there was an opportunity. Otherwisee 180 against SRH would have been a tough chase.”
“My plan was to make Rayudu open and if Kedar was fit, he will bat at 4 or 5. We keep the number of overs remaining as the mark and we decide the No. 4 batsman based on that. Unfortunately we played one game in Chennai, but the response we got from Pune was very good. The fans watch the game despite the stadium being quite far,” Dhoni added.
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