Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif hailed Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma after they thrashed Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Wednesday. While chasing 166 runs, Head and Sharma got their team over the line by 10 wickets and with 62 balls to spare.
While Head smashed a blistering knock of 89 runs off just 30 balls, Sharma scored a whirlwind innings of 75 runs off just 28 balls. Head completed his fifty off just 16 balls whereas Sharma got to the personal milestone in 19 balls as the Orange Army mustered 107 runs in the Powerplay overs.
Both the left-handers were able to tee off from the get-go and played aggressively to get the job done for their team.
Mohammad Kaif recalled the 2003 World Cup final when Australia trounced India.
“Pat Cummins – Aussie captain, Travis Head – player from Australia. So this is the Aussie intent. I remember the 2003 World Cup final – Australia against India. The conditions were overcast. We won the toss and (Sourav) Ganguly said we would win the match as the ball would swing. Australia made 360,” Kaif said on Star Sports.
“This has not happened for the first time. We have seen in this entire IPL that bowlers are unable to stop these two batters. This is career-ending batting, that the bowler is dropped from the next match, they are batting like that,” Kaif added.
The Natwest trophy final hero said it was not slogging from the left-handers but proper hitting. While LSG scored 27 runs in the Powerplay, SRH smashed 107 in the first six.
“The intent we should have seen from Lucknow in a big match was totally missing. They scored 27 runs in six overs and SRH reached 100 in six overs. This wasn’t slogging but top-class batting. It’s just watch the ball and hit the ball. They moved the right leg away and played shots off good balls,” he observed.
Kaif added it was a statement win from SRH in a must-win game against LSG as they played fearlessly.
“I believe there was another test in today’s game. Hyderabad showed that they can play like this when a do-or-die game comes. Winning the match by 10 wickets is a statement to the other teams who will come to play here. Gujarat will come to play the next match at this ground. Come with a plan,” Kaif stated.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.
