Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered a heartbreaking defeat against fellow former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The latter pipped them in the Super Over during Match 35 of the 2020 Indian Premier League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
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While the decision to field first by SRH was questioned by many, skipper David Warner defended it. Nonetheless, he blamed his bowlers for leaking runs at the latter stage of the KKR's innings, allowing them to post a par total.
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"I don't know where to start. At the end of the day, we probably leaked a few too many in the middle overs and at the back end. For us, it's about finishing games and we've failed the last 2-3 occasions. Not at all in two minds about bowling first. I thought this was a nice wicket that wouldn't change and to be fair it didn't. 165 was about par. We lost wickets at crucial times again," said Warner following the game.
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Meanwhile, the star of the game was KKR's Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson, who claimed 315, besides claiming a couple more in the Super Over, as KKR rode to an easy win, with a target of three runs. He said that dismissing Warner in the opening ball of the Super Over would always remain special to him.
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"I think getting David Warner out especially at the start of the super over. That was my favourite wicket. It's great having Morgs (Eoin Morgan) at the top off the mark with his calmness and of course, I had my plan, which was working throughout the game. Look, we'll take this win and enjoy tonight, it was a very good win on a tough wicket. It was nice to put the icing on the cake after the batsmen's effort," said Ferguson after the win.
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KKR skipper Eoin Morgan, too, was delighted with his first win since taking over the role from Dinesh Karthik, besides praising Ferguson for his incredible bowling. "They're nice to be part of, get a glimpse into what the guys are about. For Lockie to come in and perform in both phases was outstanding. We've been sort of striving to get wins out of the last couple of games, didn't happen against Mumbai, today we were competitive," he said.
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Morgan also clarified on Andre Russell being seemingly injured by saying, "Dre went off the field, we thought he was injured. He came back on and said he could bowl. I think he showed a lot of character to get us to the Super Over after not starting well. He's a superstar player for us. Hopefully, we can gather up some momentum after this."
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