David Warner says SRH's latest IPL loss 'proved' something to him as game-plan fails

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner expressed disappointment after his team's bottled run-chase against the defending champions Mumbai Indians at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. SRH has now registered their third straight loss in IPL 2021 after going down to MI by 13 runs.

'I don't know how to take that': David Warner

"I don't know how to take that. Obviously disappointing. Two of us were set but it proves that if you don't bat deep, you can't win. That was my game-plan, a great piece of fielding from Hardik though. But that's the game of cricket. These are very much chaseable targets, if you get a partnership and if there is one person at the end, you can chase it down. The guys need to play smart cricket in the middle, the bowlers have been fantastic and this wicket was slower than the previous wickets that we have played", said Warner during the post-match interview.

"You gotta learn from mistakes and it's our responsibility at the top to bat deep. The bowlers adapted well. We have to move forward and keep having smiles on our faces", he added.

SRH lose the plot despite a brisk start

Mumbai Indians posted a challenging total of 150/5 from their 20 overs on a difficult batting wicket at Chepauk after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Opener Quinton de Kock top-scored with 40 and was involved in a 55-run opening stand along with skipper Rohit Sharma (32). In the end, explosive middle-order batsman Kieron Pollard's  (35*) pyrotechnics in the death overs propelled the five-time champions to a fighting total.

In reply, the Orange Army was cruising towards an easy win with captain Warner (36), and, Jonny Bairstow (43) added 67 runs for the first wicket before the latter's dismissal and once David Warner was run out courtesy of an outstanding piece of fielding from Hardik Pandya, Hyderabad suffered a dramatic collapse and it seemed to be all over for them when the scorecard read 104/5 in the 15th over. 

However, middle-order batsman Vijay Shankar restored his team's hopes to a certain extent with an important 28 but, with the asking rate getting steeper and with no support from the other end, he was only waging a lone battle before his dismissal in the penultimate over. In the end, Trent Boult completed the proceedings by yorking tail-enders Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and, Khaleel Ahmed as the title-holders registered their second consecutive win with two balls to spare.

(@IPL/Twitter)