Kane Williamson finds his groove at a crucial juncture for SRH
Eyebrows were raised when New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a mammoth sum of ₹14 crores ahead of the auction. The argument from the critics was that the New Zealand skipper wouldn't have gone for the same amount in the mega-auction.
However, the IPL team management stood their ground and even let go of the franchise's best player over the last few years, Rashid Khan, in favor of the Kiwi. Williamson also suffered a recurring elbow injury, which kept him away from the game since December.
As Kane Williamson struggled to get going in the first three games, doubts started to creep in on whether his elbow injury was hurting his form. There was also the added pressure of the Sunrisers losing their first two games of the tournament.
However, the Kiwi batter has once again shown he is one of the facilitators of world cricket at the moment. His gritty half-century gave the Sunrisers their second win of the campaign on Monday against the Gujarat Titans.
Kane Williamson initially struggled with his timing once again, with Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya bowling straight and targeting the top of the off-stump. This ploy has been a recurring theme against Williamson this season, with the swing on offer at all venues.
In SRH's first game against the Rajasthan Royals, both Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult troubled the New Zealander with away swingers around the off-stump, which ultimately led to his dismissal. Williamson was dismissed cheaply for 16 in their second game as well, which probably forced him to take a conservative approach against CSK in their third game.
As Abhishek Sharma scored at a brisk pace, Williamson struggled to find the fence at regular intervals and was eventually dismissed for 32 (40) while trying to up the ante.
It was the same case against Gujarat too as Kane Williamson once again took a conservative approach to his innings. The Sunrisers scored just 11 runs in the first four overs in the chase of 163, with Williamson scoring 7 off 13 deliveries and striking at 53.
However, the Kiwi immediately changed gears, scoring a four and a six in the next over to kickstart his innings. As Abhishek Sharma and later Rahul Tripathi attacked from the other end, Williamson continued striking at a run-a-ball.
With 80 required off the last eight balls, Williamson struck two timely sixes off Hardik Pandya to relieve the pressure that was building.
The Kiwi batter then used the pace of Lockie Ferguson to good effect to score a six and a boundary. He was dismissed for 57(46), playing an un-Williamson-like shot as he tried to muscle the ball over long-on.
Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra lauded Williamson's innings and picked him as the standout player of the match. Speaking after the game on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:
"I am going with Kane Williamson. Anything might be happening around him - bombs are exploding, tornadoes are coming but he is calm, cool and collected. That's Williamson. He stood there, it was a sedate but important knock, a match-winning knock. He came at the start, batted at different stages of the game and batted almost till the end. When he got out, the match was almost in Hyderabad's grasp."
Credit has to be given to Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi as both batters scored quickly, which gave Williamson time to settle into his innings. With the games coming thick and fast, it's a good sign for the Sunrisers that their captain is finally up and running this season.
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