It was a near-perfect start for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to kickstart their Indian Premier League campaign on the brightest of notes. In their nine-wicket demolition job of the Rajasthan Royals, their disciplined bowling was complemented by some agile ground fielding as they held on to their catches and their top order finishing the job for them.
In what turned out to be a one-sided affair in the end, Shikhar Dhawan's early drop cost the Royals pretty as the opener finished with an unbeaten 57-ball 77, with skipper Kane Williamson for company on 36, in his first game as SRH's full-time captain after the franchise lost out on David Warner in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal that the Australian was involved in.
"It was a great opportunity," said Williamson on Monday (April 9) on him being named to lead the side. "Feel fortunate to be able to do it. Saying that, obviously, David is a huge part of this team and is a fantastic performer (and) has led the team superbly well. There are some changes this year but it was nice to come out and play really well as a team. It's important we improve and build on our performance for the next game."
SRH went into the 2018 auction with a team to build with Warner as their captain. However, with events that unfolded just two weeks ahead of the start of this edition of the IPL, quick decisions needed to be made. Williamson, who would have otherwise found himself in the corridor of uncertainty with regards to making the playing XI on a consistent basis, was named as captain. Captaincy isn't new to Williamson who has led New Zealand to the top of the T20I rankings, so it wasn't really a job that was out of his comfort zone. It was only validated in how he was at ease with the side and how they in turn responded with a clinical performance.
"Obviously it happened very quickly," he said. "As things unfolded, we were sort of in contact a little bit. And having been at the franchise for a little while, it was a privilege to get asked. Fortunate to have a really good bunch of people to work with. Look it's been a pretty quick period, we've had 3-4 days together, but the guys have been really good and it was nice to come out today and play well as a unit, work hard in the field and I think that's a key attribute to the performance today."
Alex Hales, the English opener, who was flown in as Warner's replacement, was expected to slot into the role of the opener. Instead, SRH, in an aggressive move, went in with Billy Stanlake, the Australian pacer. In turn, Sunrisers picked Wriddhiman Saha to open with Shikhar Dhawan, which was a slot that Warner owned, scoring tons of runs for the side and giving them consistent starts. While Saha managed just 5 on the day, he is likely to stay at the top, to start off with.
"I don't think anyone can replace Davey (David Warner)," conceded Williamson. "He's world class, has performed in the last couple of years have probably been some of the best of the competition. Certainly, it's been a big loss for us with that partnership at the top of the order but someone like Wriddhiman Saha to come in into that opening role... We know he is a fantastic player. So, we'll look forward to those two to put together some partnerships. But yeah, Davey is obviously not here this year. It is a loss for us as a unit, but it's also important at the same time we stay tight and we look to work together as a team and with the personnel we have and today we did play well as a team. And that's important once again. We'll look to build on that and move forward together," he added.
One aspect of Williamson's captaincy that stood out on the night was his mixing his bowlers around, using only five of them, with the two spinners in Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan, not having operated at the same time through the innings. It was a ploy that paid off in the end with Rajasthan restricted to 125 in 20 overs. When asked if it was a conscious decision, Williamson said, "It was just a matter of balance and how things were unfolding. You make these decisions at the time and hope they are the best decisions to make. Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don't, but we do have a strong bowling attack and the guys executed very well today."
