Final over. Sixteen runs required off six balls. In most situations, all bets would’ve been on the bowling team. But the bowler was Ishant Sharma. We never know what might happen.
No disrespect. On his day, he can terrify the best batsmen. But on Saturday, he gave away 30 in his three overs. The batsmen in the middle, Saurabh Tiwary and Kedhar Jadhav, put together 82 runs for the fifth wicket. Jadhav, especially, was unstoppable, as he was scoring boundaries of yorkers outside off-stump.
David Warner, who is becoming more proactive as a skipper, had Karn Sharma (3-0-12-2) and Moises Henriques (2-0-14-0) at his disposal. But he chose to back his fast bowler. And Ishant did not disappoint. He made sure his team entered the top four of the table.
The Sunrisers were finally over the horizon.
It was a night when Ishant got his line and length right (at least in the last over). Unlike Dhoni against Mumbai Indians, David Warner got his bowling choice right. Bhuvaneshwar, as usual, got his yorkers perfect. Moises Henriques, appearing comfortable at number three, paced his innings right. The team management seemed to have finally found a winning combination.
Henrqiues the batsman
But Saturday night belonged to Henriques. His unbeaten 46-ball 74 set up a challenging target of 164 for Delhi Daredevils on a big ground at Raipur.
After making some fine contributions in the last couple of games, he was again sent in at No. 3. He came during the third over. He took his time to settle. He used the huge ground and a sluggish outfield to his advantage. He constantly rotated the strike. Whenever there was a loose delivery, he sent it soaring over the ropes. And towards the end, he exploded, scoring 29 off the last seven balls he faced.
Regardless of the format, pacing an innings is important. Henriques did that perfectly on Saturday. He seems to be enjoying his batting position. It was one of the major concerns for the Sunrisers think-tank. But no more.
Henriques doesn’t panic as soon as Warner gets out. Instead, he carries on with the singles and twos. He does not look to dominate right from ball one. He takes his time; assesses the conditions; tries to get used to the pitch; and once he is in; he tries to go for the big shots.
The batting line-up is settling down
But is Moises Henriques really the man for No. 3?
There is Kane Williamson, who deserves an extended run. Among the current crop of batsmen, he belongs to the finest of them. Unlike a few other test batsmen – like Cheteshwar Pujara and K L Rahul – Williamson can also adapt to the shorter version of the game.
But Williamson cannot bowl. Henriques can. He can bat and bowl.
But going by his international records, it would seem as if he can do neither. In his three Test matches, he has scored 156 runs and picked two wickets. In ODIs, he has scored 36 runs and picked five wickets. Of the four T20 internationals that he has played, he has 13 runs and three wickets to my name.
On a few occasions, IPL turns lesser performers into heroes. Henriques scored a T20 77 some time ago. But it is doubtful if he would have got the same kind of love and affection there. Here, people couldn’t stop tweeting about Henriques.
With Eoin Morgan coming good in the last game, and Henriques being the highest scorer for the team this time, the Sunrisers batting unit is slowly showing signs of being stable. But with Henriques chipping in with the bat and ball, and Ravi Bopara not doing much, the Sunrisers could go for Steyn or Boult instead of Bopara.
If the Sunrisers batting unit can function without Warner, the team can think of making it to the qualifiers – and beyond.
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No disrespect. On his day, he can terrify the best batsmen. But on Saturday, he gave away 30 in his three overs. The batsmen in the middle, Saurabh Tiwary and Kedhar Jadhav, put together 82 runs for the fifth wicket. Jadhav, especially, was unstoppable, as he was scoring boundaries of yorkers outside off-stump.
David Warner, who is becoming more proactive as a skipper, had Karn Sharma (3-0-12-2) and Moises Henriques (2-0-14-0) at his disposal. But he chose to back his fast bowler. And Ishant did not disappoint. He made sure his team entered the top four of the table.
The Sunrisers were finally over the horizon.
It was a night when Ishant got his line and length right (at least in the last over). Unlike Dhoni against Mumbai Indians, David Warner got his bowling choice right. Bhuvaneshwar, as usual, got his yorkers perfect. Moises Henriques, appearing comfortable at number three, paced his innings right. The team management seemed to have finally found a winning combination.
Henrqiues the batsman
But Saturday night belonged to Henriques. His unbeaten 46-ball 74 set up a challenging target of 164 for Delhi Daredevils on a big ground at Raipur.
After making some fine contributions in the last couple of games, he was again sent in at No. 3. He came during the third over. He took his time to settle. He used the huge ground and a sluggish outfield to his advantage. He constantly rotated the strike. Whenever there was a loose delivery, he sent it soaring over the ropes. And towards the end, he exploded, scoring 29 off the last seven balls he faced.
Regardless of the format, pacing an innings is important. Henriques did that perfectly on Saturday. He seems to be enjoying his batting position. It was one of the major concerns for the Sunrisers think-tank. But no more.
Henriques doesn’t panic as soon as Warner gets out. Instead, he carries on with the singles and twos. He does not look to dominate right from ball one. He takes his time; assesses the conditions; tries to get used to the pitch; and once he is in; he tries to go for the big shots.
The batting line-up is settling down
But is Moises Henriques really the man for No. 3?
There is Kane Williamson, who deserves an extended run. Among the current crop of batsmen, he belongs to the finest of them. Unlike a few other test batsmen – like Cheteshwar Pujara and K L Rahul – Williamson can also adapt to the shorter version of the game.
But Williamson cannot bowl. Henriques can. He can bat and bowl.
But going by his international records, it would seem as if he can do neither. In his three Test matches, he has scored 156 runs and picked two wickets. In ODIs, he has scored 36 runs and picked five wickets. Of the four T20 internationals that he has played, he has 13 runs and three wickets to my name.
On a few occasions, IPL turns lesser performers into heroes. Henriques scored a T20 77 some time ago. But it is doubtful if he would have got the same kind of love and affection there. Here, people couldn’t stop tweeting about Henriques.
With Eoin Morgan coming good in the last game, and Henriques being the highest scorer for the team this time, the Sunrisers batting unit is slowly showing signs of being stable. But with Henriques chipping in with the bat and ball, and Ravi Bopara not doing much, the Sunrisers could go for Steyn or Boult instead of Bopara.
If the Sunrisers batting unit can function without Warner, the team can think of making it to the qualifiers – and beyond.
