IPL 2018, SRH vs RCB: Was focusing on what to do each ball in the last over and it paid off, says Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Kane Williamson registered yet another half-century and was adjudged man of the match for his knock. The SRH skipper talked about the sloppy fielding and the way his bowlers executed the plans in the death overs.

“We’re playing on some tough surfaces. We were aiming for 150, and we weren’t far away. Our fielding was probably a bit sloppy. Could have operated better. At the same time, good to come away with the win. Some experienced campaigners stepping up at the right time. That last over comes to mind. Bhuvi was world class. They’ve both done it (Bhuvi and Kaul) extremely well for a long time. It’s best we can trying to adapt to the surfaces. We’re seeing off-paced deliveries used and then yorkers to break things up. It’s having to adapt and doing it as quickly as we can. It was definitely hard work out there. It was a tough surface to get momentum. We had a number of key partnerships to get us a competitive total. I suppose on these surfaces, that’s what’s important is to get a competitive total. That’s what you need. At the moment it’s tough going, but as a team, we’re getting enough and our bowling unit has been outstanding. Obviously it wasn’t our best fielding performance. Guys held their nerves at key moments which went a long way in us scraping across the line. Bat and ball, there are things we certainly want to touch on moving forward as a team,” Williamson said.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli expressed his disappointment over the loss. “It was a (tough defeat) but that is how the game goes. We deserve to lose this game. We were not good enough on the day. 60-odd runs in the first six overs and than we ended up like that. I don’t think we showed enough application. The kind of shots we played, they were not on at that stage. I think we threw it away. I think we let the opposition get back in the game. That has been the story of the season so far. The fielding was up to the mark but I think 10-15 runs less would have been ideal for us. This was a tough wicket (to bat). We should have done a better job with the ball but in the field we were up to the mark. If you have strong characters in the team you can always do well in such a tournament. Sunrisers have quite a few guys in the team – that has been the story of their season. They understand their team and that’s why they have been so successful. They understand their strengths, know their limitations. That’s been their story and this has been ours. As an all-round team Chennai and Punjab are good. As a bowling team, Sunrisers are the strongest team.”

“RCB, well, they’re all but out of this competition. When Kohli started the way he did, this outcome would’ve been a distant thought, but once again the batting faltered during clutch times. Poor shot selection, some panic-stricken batsmanship, and some quality bowling choked them up through the middle. So another season, so much promise, and they fall short (from the looks of it). Let’s hear more in the presentations,” he added.