13 April,2021 07:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Vijay Shankar and Trevor Bayliss. Pics/BCCI, IPL
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) coach Trevor Bayliss defended the move to send all-rounder Vijay Shankar ahead of hard-hitting batsman Abdul Samad against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL-14 encounter at Chennai on Sunday. SRH lost the match by 10 runs.
Shankar, who came to the crease after Mohammed Nabi's (14) dismissal in the 17th over, scored 11 off seven balls. However, Samad later scored an unbeaten 19 off just eight balls thanks chiefly to two huge sixes against KKR pacer Pat Cummins in the 19th over.
"Hindsight is always a wonderful thing. It's easy to sit back here [after the match], but in fact, Vijay, in the practice matches that we had a few days ago, was our best player. He struck the ball beautifully. He even scored 95 in one of the games and hit many balls a long way over the fence. Look, it's always difficult in those [match] situations when you go in and pretty much have a go from the first ball you face," Bayliss said at the post-match virtual press conference on Sunday night.
Bayliss appreciated Samad's effort. "Samad, in a short space of time across the last IPL and this one, has shown that he has a lot of talent and he's a clean striker of the ball. I think he will get more experienced and will get more opportunity," he said. SRH preferred to keep their former captain Kane Williamson on reserve bench for this match as they felt the New Zealander needed more time to get match fit.
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"We felt Kane needs a little bit of extra time to get his match fitness. A little bit more time in the nets. He would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow obviously, if that had occurred. But we aren't too perturbed about that. Jonny has been in form recently in white-ball cricket here in India. Kane will obviously certainly come into our calculations as the tournament unfolds," explained Bayliss.
Nitish Rana (56-ball 80) and Rahul Tripathi's (29-ball 53) attacking knocks helped KKR post 187-6. In reply, SRH's Manish Pandey (unbeaten 61 in 44 balls) and Bairstow (40-ball 55) tried their best, but the team managed just 177-5 off their 20 overs.
