No need to panic after one or two losses: Ashish Nehra

The Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their 3^rd game of the season when the Rising Pune Supergiants defeated them by 34 runs(D/L method) in a rain curtailed match. One of their key bowlers, Ashish Nehra, made his comeback in the match, replacing Barinder Sran.

In the post-match conference, the left-arm pacer was optimistic about his return and also stressed on the fact that there is no need to press the panic button after a defeat or two. Nehra said there is no need to panic after losing a game since they had convincingly won the previous games. “After losing one or two games, we don’t need to panic,” he quoted.

He was definitely disappointed with the team’s performance but said being 30/5 doesn’t help. He admitted a score close to 150 would have been par on the wicket. “Definitely disappointed to lose the game, but it’s part of the T20 game. We played good three games, but 145-150 would have been a good score,” Nehra said.

“Once you are 30 for 5, you are always playing catch-up. We were lucky that we scored 120 because Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed to score those 20 runs. Otherwise, we were looking like getting 100-105 maybe,” he added further.

When asked about whether the team could have fielded an extra batsman, the fast bowler from Delhi replied having 10 batters in the side doesn’t guarantee 200 either. He rightly pointed that Naman Ojha bats at number 7, who is a very capable batsman. Hence, the team requires playing at least four frontline bowlers.

“We have Naman Ojha at No. 7, who can hit. So how many more batsmen do you need? Ultimately you need 4 bowlers as well. You can even play 10 batsmen, but it doesn’t mean that you will definitely score 200 runs. You need those bowlers also to do well. If you take RCB for instance, they score 180-200, but the other team is able to chase. So I think we have enough batting, just that we have to apply better. Like I said it is one of those games for us,” quoted the 36-year old bowler.

Commenting further on his bowling and fitness, Ashish Nehra was optimistic in saying the more he plays, the better he will get. He was modest to admit that he was a bit rusty in the game against the Supergiants. “I played after 2-3 weeks. Like I said, we have 2-3 games every week. The more I play, I will get better. I would say I was a bit rusty compared to how I was bowling in the last 6, 7, 8 months. With more games coming up, I’ll get better from here,” he said.

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