IPL 2022: Kane Williamson lavishes praise on 'seriously special' uncapped Indian batter

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson hailed Rahul Tripathi as a "seriously special' player after the latter helped the side register a crucial victory against Mumbai Indians. Williamson lauded Tripathi's ability to score at a higher run rate from the word go, adding "have seen a number of times this competition". Tripathi scored a brilliant 76 off 44 balls to help Hyderabad post a mammoth total. The uncapped Indian batter is currently the highest run-scorer for his side with 393 runs in 13 matches. 

"He’s (Rahul Tripathi) a seriously special player, he comes out and takes the momentum away…. have seen a number of times in this competition," Williamson said in his post-match interview. 

Williamson also heaped praise on Priyam Garg, who scored 42 off 26 balls in his first match back for the franchise. Williamson called Garg a "seriously talented' player who has a lot of potential and skill. "Priyam is a seriously talented cricketer… great that he could get the opportunity. He’s one of those players we’re going to see a lot more of, got a really good head on his shoulders, a lot of potential but a lot of skill as well,” he said.

MI vs SRH

In terms of the match, the Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to field first. Sunrisers Hyderabad amassed a massive total thanks to Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, and Nicholas Pooran's outstanding performances. Garg and Tripathi got the team off to a good start, scoring 42 and 76 runs, respectively. Pooran came in and scored 38 runs in a quickfire innings to assist Hyderabad to reach 150 runs. In 20 overs, Hyderabad finished at 193/6 in 20 overs. Mumbai's Ramandeep Singh took three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah took one. Riley Meredith and Daniel Sams each took a wicket.

The Mumbai Indians got off to a great start in the second innings, with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan putting on a 95-run opening stand. They hit 48 and 43 home runs, respectively. Daniel Sams, who was promoted up the order, scored 15 runs off 11 balls. In the 15th over, Mumbai lost two consecutive wickets, which put them under some pressure. David came in and scored 46 off 18 balls to take the strain off, but his hilarious run-out saw Hyderabad reclaim the advantage. Mumbai was defeated by three runs. Tripathi was named the player of the match for his brilliant batting performance.