Abu Dhabi: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner on Saturday defended his decision to bat first despite their seven-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in the eighth match of the Indian Premier League.
Warner opted to bat first after winning the toss and the side posted a meagre total of 142/4 in their allotted twenty overs. The skipper played a knock of 36 runs while Manish Pandey scored a half-century before being dismissed by Andre Russell. He amassed 51 off 38 balls.
"I think I got my decision right. For us, our strength is death bowling. I thought it was actually a difficult wicket to accelerate on. The Kolkata boys showed us that if you can keep wickets at the end, that's what wins you games. I don't regret what I did at the beginning of the game and I stick by my decision," Warner told host broadcaster in the post-match presentation.
Credit goes to the KKR bowling line-up for restricting Hyderabad to a low total. All the bowlers bowled extremely as they all finished under the economy of 9. Pat Cummins was the most economical bowler for the KKR as he returned with the figures of 1-19 in his four overs.
"Patty Cummins, as he does, (bowled) Test-match line and length. There was a little bit of movement here and there. All in all, it got harder through the middle. We went four or five overs for 20 and coming back with three wickets in hand at the end probably killed us a little bit there. An extra 30 or 40 runs would have been great," Warner added.
Chasing 143, Gill guided the side to their first win of the tournament. He opened the innings and remained unbeaten on 70 runs. His knock was studded with two sixes and five fours.
He was awarded Player of the Match for his spectacular performance. The 21-year-old had a 92-run unbeaten stand for the fourth wicket with Eoin Morgan, who amassed 42* off 29 balls including two sixes and three fours.
SRH will next take on Delhi Capitals at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, September 29.
