Low total and dew were the cause for our defeat: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Sunrisers Hyderabad right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has blamed the dew factor and the small total on the board responsible for their four-wicket defeat against Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.

The Sunrisers’ bowlers could not capitalise on the batting performances by David Warner and co during the first innings of the crucial IPL encounter. The Wankhede Stadium is always known for its small boundaries and the dew factor which makes chasing a tad easier for any team.

“I don’t think there was anything wrong with our batting. They tried their best. It was just one of those days when you play your shot and it goes to the fielders. We were 79 without loss in 10 overs which was a good start but 158 was not enough as dew was there,” Bhuvneshwar said at the post-match press conference on Wednesday night.

He further added that the total was tough for the bowlers to defend given that the total was just average on a good batting wicket. The second innings generally tends to get much easier for the teams as the dew sets in. Also, the Sunrisers’ failed to get quick wickets at the top of the order which made it more difficult for the visitors to get a grip on the game.

The right-arm bowler went on to praise the efforts of the left-handed opener David Warner who pulled off an amazing reverse sweep in Harbhajan Singh’s over before being dismissed playing a similar shot.  “If he bats for 20 minutes five minutes he bats right handed in nets. It was not surprising. It was an amazing shot. AB (de Villiers) plays these shots,” said Bhuvneshwar.

In spite of the valiant attempt from the 19-year-old leggie Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Sunrisers were short of probably 30-40 runs on the night. The right-arm pacer emerged shining from amongst the other bowlers with figures of 3-21 on a wicket which was deemed difficult for the pace bowlers.

Further, it was evident that the Sunrisers failed to build on the platform set by the openers David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan with wickets tumbling at a constant pace on the other end of the pitch. Sunrisers’ key bowler from the last year was Mustafizur Rahman whose return came in as a boon for the visitors. The Bangladeshi left-arm seamer was least effective on the pitch and leaked as much as 34 runs without completing his quota of four overs.

However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar came to the rescue of his fellow fast-bowler Mustafizur Rahman reminding the audience of his bowling in the previous year of the tournament.

“He will bounce back, it’s just one odd game. He was one of our main bowlers last year. There’s nothing we can talk to him. He just had an off game. We are pretty sure he will come back,” added Bhuvneshwar when asked about the form of the left-arm Bangladeshi seamer.

The defending champions would want to get back on track if they want to defend their title amongst the high competition from the other IPL teams.