Hyderabad, Mar 28: Mitchell Marsh finds it “fascinating” to watch Nicholas Pooran send the ball soaring into the stands and is relieved that he does not have to bowl at the West Indies dasher, who just slaughters the rival bowling attacks in the IPL.
Pooran was the star of the Lucknow Super Giants’ easy chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad as he scored 70 off just 26 balls. He also had a fruitful stand with Marsh, who chipped in with 52 off 31 balls.
The duo also scored half-centuries in the opening game against Delhi Capitals and shared the highest stand (for second wicket) in both games.
“The only word I have for it is ‘fascinating’. I’ve played against Nicky for a long time, and usually, I’ve been on the receiving end of such innings,” Marsh said at the post-match press conference.
“Being on the same team, I feel a great connection with him as a bloke and as someone who I’m going to hopefully bat with a lot,” Marsh added.
When Pooran is in his elements, Marsh feels no need for extra communication.
“There wasn’t much chat, to be honest. When someone’s in the zone like he was, you just try to build a partnership and keep going. He was almost unstoppable tonight.”
Asked whether it was a bold call to chase, Marsh said, “I’m not part of those discussions, but I don’t think it was a risky decision. Batting first and defending against them would have been just as bold.
“No matter who you play, you need to execute well across 40 overs to win in the IPL. We felt chasing was the right approach on this pitch, and it worked out well for us.”
Marsh didn’t forget to praise young pacer Prince Yadav, who repeatedly landed the blockhole deliveries troubling a star-studded Hyderabad batting line-up that managed only 190 for 9 on a placid track after scoring 286 in the previous game.
Prince not only dismissed Travis Head but also had a hand in running out Heinrich Klaasen as he finished with impressive figures of 1/29 in 4 overs.
“Really proud of Prince. He bowled with great control. A long tournament like this tests a team’s depth, and it was impressive to see him step up so early in the season.”
Deservingly, Shardul Thakur got the Player of The Match award for his four wickets and Marsh couldn’t have been more generous in his praise.
“Shardul was outstanding. He set the tone right away and showed his experience, especially when Travis and Abhishek were putting us under pressure. It was a well-rounded performance from us.
“I’m really proud of how our bowling unit stepped up today. We executed our plans well. Five years ago, if a team scored 190, you wouldn’t say you bowled brilliantly.
“But that’s how the game has evolved. I do hope we see a 300-run total in the IPL this season— just not against us,” Marsh, who is nicknamed ‘Bison’ in the Australian cricket fraternity said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen admitted that his team fell short of a competitive total, making it difficult to challenge their opponents.
“A score of 210-220 would have been par on this wicket,” Klaasen said, reflecting on the team’s batting performance.
He pointed out that losing wickets at crucial moments disrupted their momentum. “We kept losing wickets at the wrong times, and that’s something we need to address. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen too often in the future.”
The South African batter also said SRH do not take any opposition lightly.
“Every team is playing quality cricket. Especially on a pitch like this, any batting unit can put the opposition bowlers under pressure.
“Credit to the opposition—they bowled well in the middle overs and took early wickets, which hampered our momentum. But that’s part of the game. Losing one or two wickets early made it difficult to keep the scoring rate up. On a good batting track like this, our total simply wasn’t enough.”
Despite openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head falling cheaply, Klaasen insisted there was no added pressure on them.
“Not at all. If you look at our batting lineup, we have destructive players all the way down to number eight. It’s not necessary for Abhishek and Travis to fire every single time,” he added. (PTI)
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