Laxman a happy man, heaps praises on Williamson and Siraj

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman is a happy man as the side continued their unbeaten run at home by recording fourth consecutive victory with a comfortable 15-run victory over Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday night.

Laxman heaped praises on New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson for playing a crucial knock in his first match of the season. He also lauded Hyderabad bowler Mohammed Siraj for keeping calm and bowling well to pick up two wickets in his debut match.

“Delhi Daredevils have got a good pace attack and we thought that Kane Williamson at No.3 will just give us that stability and solidity. And he proved us right. Williamson is an outstanding batsman. His record speaks for itself. It is unfortunate that he doesn’t regularly feature in playing XI probably he would have in other franchise. What we admire him, is his simplicity and also he is a great team man. He is a great role model and we are fortunate to have him in our squad,” said Laxman of the Kiwi elgant batsman who scored 89 in just 51 balls to set up the victory.

The former Indian star also praised local boy Siraj for his two-wicket spell. “I am amazed by the confidence Siraj has. That is something which will augur well in the future for him. We all were very impressed with the way he performed for Hyderabad and wherever he got an opportunity this season. That is why we tell that he is one young fast bowler who can really improve and win matches for the franchise in future.

“The more matches he plays, I can assure you that, the more



matches he will win it for the franchise. He is a wicket-taking bowler and a thinking bowler. The way he came back and bowled his third and fourth overs was impressive as first two overs were expensive and a lot of players, who played their first match in front of such a big crowd and packed stadium, can get overawed by the situation. He didn’t do that. It is great to see him maintain that composure and I am sure he will improve with each and every match he plays.”

He also said that it was heartening to see others taking responsibility after David Warner was out to a low score. “I am very happy about that because we don’t’ want to rely on only one batsman. I think Shikhar (Dhawan) has been batting well throughout the season. It is just about converting the starts into big ones. This innings gives him that confidence going forward. Some who are on the bench still deserve a chance but unfortunately they are not getting an opportunity. It is good to see we are not relying on one batsman or one bowler.””

Delhi Daredevils’ batsman Shreyas Iyer, who scored an unbeaten 50 in the team’s losing cause. said that their bowlers should have restricted the hosts for 180 runs. “They (SRH) bowled really well. We got a good start. If you compare it with SRH’s score, our start was really good. But in between we lost a few wickets. So if we would have built on from there onwards, maybe the scenario would have been different. Also this was a wicket we could have restricted them for 180. But none the less it is a part of the game.”