Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 29 : Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Delhi Capitals (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) spin bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan said that it would need two of side's batters to come really good to achieve the 300-run mark in the league for the first time.
Following a loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at home after a high-scoring campaign opener against Rajasthan Royals, SRH will be hosted by Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) at Vizag, who are coming into a game after a thrilling one-wicket win over LSG in their first game, thanks to a superheroic knock from Ashutosh Sharma that lifted DC from 65/5 to a successful 210 run chase.
Speaking ahead of the match in the presser, Muralitharan said, "The press has made it a 300 target, but we have closely achieved almost 287 this time (against LSG). Never know, on the day, two batters have to score big and get it there."
On his side's loss to LSG in the last game, which saw Nicholas Pooran demolish SRH during a 191-run chase with a 25-ball 70, Muralitharan hailed Pooran's knock and expressed hope that the team will bounce back.
"We cannot win every match. Winning and losing happen; it is part of the game. We are all confident and will bounce back. "We were unlucky against Lucknow Super Giants in the first innings. Then, Pooran (Nicholas) played one of the best innings for them. These things happen. 190 was a good score, but Pooran made the difference. We will bounce back. The mood is good, and the captain and coach are very confident," he said.
Squads:
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Simarjeet Singh, Adam Zampa, Sachin Baby, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Wiaan Mulder, Kamindu Mendis, Rahul Chahar, Atharva Taide, Eshan Malinga
Delhi Capitals Squad: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel(w), Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Karun Nair, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Darshan Nalkande, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari.