AUCTION SEEMEED FRUITFUL FOR THE CLUB: VVS LAXMAN

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Sunrisers Hyderabad continued to prove their dominance in this season of IPL by defeating Delhi Daredevils and maintaining their hand in the league in a good sound position

VVS Laxman is very happy with the formation of the team and the way they are playing and proving themselves in all areas at the ground

Laxman defended his inclusion and believes that they have a special talent who will only get better with age. “I am amazed by the confidence Siraj has, it will only augur well for him in the future. He is one young fast bowler who can do well and win matches for the franchise. I can say we took the right decision to give him an opportunity, the way he came back after two expensive overs was very impressive”, he said.

While Williamson and Siraj turned out to be the positives of the night, Laxman defended the meager returns of Afghanistan spin sensation, Rashid Khan. The leg-spinner bowled four wicketless overs and was smashed for two sixes by Shreyas Iyer in his final over.

“If you see the way the opposition is playing, they are trying to not give him a wicket”, Laxman said. “I think he has already created an impact, he’s the X-factor in the team, we told the same after the auction as well. He bowls the tough overs for us which is always difficult, particularly for a leg-spinner. He has already created an impact and I believe he will continue to do well for us as the tournament progresses,” Laxman concluded.

Speaking about his teams’ loss, Shreyas Iyer, Delhi Daredevils middle-order batsman, lamented the middle-order collapse which cost his team during the 192-run chase. Having started well, the Daredevils lost two wickets in the 9th over, bowled by Yuvraj Singh and never quite recovered, despite a 40-ball 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Iyer himself and Angelo Mathews. Eventually, they were restricted to 176/5, thereby succumbing to their second straight loss of the tournament.

“We bowled really well, our start with the bat was good and we were ahead of them at one stage. But we lost quick wickets and couldn’t quite recover,” Iyer said. The Mumbai lad also felt that 180 was a par score on that wicket and they probably conceded some extra runs towards the end.

Shreyas was non-committal when asked if his team erred by not promoting Chris Morris up the order. The South Africa all-rounder, probably the biggest hitter in the Daredevils line-up came in at the fall of Angelo Mathews’ wicket in the final over and didn’t even get to face a ball. “It wouldn’t be proper on my part to answer the question”, Iyer said. “I was batting in the middle and I ain’t privy to the decisions taken by the team management”, he added.

Another baffling call made by the Daredevils team management was the exclusion of Shahbaz Nadeem, especially after the Jharkhand left-arm spinner did well in the initial matches of the tournament. “It’s the team management that decides on the strategy. They take the call based on the conditions and the match, I am not the one taking those decisions”, Iyer said with a wry smile.