SRH coach Moody hails in-form Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi en route his 71 on Friday. Pic/BCCI; IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad have bounced back spectacularly after losses in their first two IPL matches. SRH notched up a comfortable seven-wicket victory with 13 balls to spare when chasing 175 set by rivals Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday night.

It not only prevented the latter from joining Gujarat Titans at the top of the league table, but also helped Sunrisers to join five other teams on six points. Talking about Sunrisers' third victory on the trot in five games, head coach Tom Moody praised the batting of Rahul Tripathi and also complimented the team's bowling attack.

Tripathi, who cleared the ropes 10 times in all that included six sixes, batted superbly in making 71 in 36 balls. He also added a crucial partnership of 94 runs with South African Aiden Markram (68 not out) before departing in the 15th over.

"We had a poor start in the first game. We should have won the second game. We have had three on the bounce. Everyone is feeling comfortable with the balance of the side, coupled with the roles they got in the side. Confidence is a big thing. We built from confidence gained in the first win," Moody said in his post-match presser.

"He [Tripathi] has batted very well so far. He came into the tournament in good form. It was great to see him come out here today and grab the game by its scruff of the neck and show leadership in the top order and put us in a position from where we could win comfortably," Moody said. Tripathi has aggregated 171 runs so far at a strike rate of 178.