Thank You, Orange Army!
Gutted, disappointed and upset by the defeat.
It has been a fairy tale journey for us since the start of the tournament. With almost half the team injured, SRH looked very weak with inexperienced players and more relied on the 4 foreigners. Even I ranted about how weak SRH has been this season. Nobody gave us a chance yet we showed character and grit as made it to the playoffs by winning 3 off 3 matches. We defeated RCB in the eliminator quite comfortably. Before today's match, SRH had a winning probability of 61%. But, today was not meant to be our day. Our bowlers had an off day like our fielders. Chasing 190 in the playoffs against a quality bowling line-up like DC, it is a steep task. Yet the intent was right and hope was there till 19th over dismissal of Abdul Samad and Rashid Khan. Unfortunately, we couldn't complete the run chase.
Nevertheless, there has been a lot of positives for us in this tournament. Salem's Yorker king who has nailed the most number of Yorkers in this tournament. In the absence of the lead pacer, Natrajan proved his skill and even lead the pace attack. The U19 captain Priyam Garg was another positive. He could middle the ball so well and is a player to watch out for. Abdul Samad, Another youngster from JK is an exciting hitter to watch out for. He almost guided us through the line today as well. If groomed well, he will surely emulate Hardik Pandya. Abishek Sharma is another exciting all-rounder but sadly couldn't play much due to the team combination.
The team ain't as star studded as RCB or MI but am really proud of the way we fought each and every game. There's a popular quote "Cometh the hour, Cometh the man". Kane Williamson is the player who has been such an asset to the team. There's literally no words to describe him. Jason Holder came in late as a replacement but made a mark in each and every game he played. Unfortunately today he was expensive and couldn't compensate with the bat as well. David Warner, the captain has been such an amazing player and leader with complete dedication towards the team. In my opinion, David Warner is the best captain in the tournament. He is such a vibe and the best captain could dream off. I was quite taken aback when the 2016 championship winning coach Tom Moody was replaced by Trevor Bayliss. Only later, I got to know that he's an excellent coach and he lived up to his reputation. Hopefully we reach greater heights next time. The defeat is gonna hurt me in the coming days yet victory and defeat are parts and parcels of the game and one must face it bravely. This is the most focused I have been to an IPL tournament as I hardly missed a match and will miss IPL as a whole once the tournament ends. IPL 14 starts in 19 weeks and looking forward to it eagerly.
Onwards and upwards!
#SRH #OrangeArmy #KeepRising
