Kane Williamson proves why he deserves a permanent slot in Sunrisers Hyderabad's playing XI ,SRH vs DD:IPL 2017
New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad, undoubtedly, is one of the most balanced teams in the Indian Premier League. While the team doesn't boast of a T20 specialist barring David Warner, it has several utility players and the team is known to change the course of the game by delivering as a unit.
In Wednesday's match against Delhi Daredevils, SRH issued a warning for the other teams by showing how strong is their bench strength.
Kane Williamson, one of the modern day greats, was given an opportunity to play his first match of the season. The Kiwi skipper grabbed the opportunity with both hands and smashed match-winning 89 runs off just 51 balls – an innings which comprised gorgeous strokes all over the ground.
Electing to bat, Hyderabad's in-form captain David Warner fell early in the second over for just four. Williamson took his time initially but changed gears in the seventh over – where he hit Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews for two consecutive sixes.
The Kiwi batsman continued playing good strokes and reached to his fifty off just 33 balls. Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan (70) stitched a match-winning 136-run stand for the second wicket and then restricted Delhi to 176 for 5 to maintain their unbeaten run rate at home.
While Dhawan has the reputation of being an aggressive opener, Williamson was the more aggressor of the duo as he hit 6 fours and 5 sixes in his 51-ball knock before he was out in the 17th over.
With the Sunrisers depending too much on Warner and Dhawan for most of their runs, Williamson's knock would have come as a relief for the SRH think tank.
While David Warner, Moises Henriques and Rashid Khan remain to be the three key overseas players in the team, it would be extremely difficult for the team now to drop Williamson, post that magnificent knock at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Currently ranked second in the points table after four wins from 6 matches, SRH will now take on Rising Pune Supergiant on 22 April at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.