Kolkata: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Kane Williamson hailed the fighting spirit of his team and praised star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan after his all-round brilliance earned them a 14-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 2 and a place in the IPL final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Sunday.
Man-of-the-match Rashid (34 n o; 3/19) slammed a quick-fire knock down the order to take SRH to 174/7 before returning with an impressive spell with the ball. He also took two catches and effected a run out.
“It was a great fighting effort from the lads, game ebbed and flowed. Game could have gone either way. Credit to the way the boys finished off the first innings to get a competitive total. Game was slipping away a bit at the start, but we knew if we held firm, we could squeeze back in the middle,” Williamson said.
“Important we move on and focus on the final. As a team we fight to the very last ball and we showed that again today. Someone like Rashid is the perfect example. Outstanding talent, he has a great attitude. He (Rashid) was brilliant but he’s got another game, so we’re going to keep him wrapped up. He’s had a great season for us.”
Williamson also added that despite injuries to their key players they didn’t change the balance of the team. “We had injuries obviously, Wriddiman Saha was injured. He came back in, was nice to have his experience. Sreevats Goswami contributed well, but that was the big thing for us to have that experience in the final,” the New Zealander said.
Talking about their finals against CS, Williamson said: “They’ve been playing good cricket, and certainly deserve to be in the final. It’s a great occasion, something that the guys will be looking forward to. It is about focusing on the next match now, one which the guys are excited for.”
Meanwhile, Rashid asserted that he has been working on his all-round game and just tried to believe in himself. “It was much-needed for me, wanted to give my 100 per cent in all departments. Focus was to just believe in my skills. I was happy with the batting, it was needed in the end,” Rashid added.
