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IPL 2021: Former players urge SRH to play Kane Williamson

Former Indian cricketers Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Manjrekar posted contrasting tweets with the same meaning after Sunrisers Hyderabad collapsed while chasing the 150-run target set by Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL 2021 match in Chennai. Sehwag took a humorous approach to hint that Kane Williamson needs to play sooner rather than later for SRH.

On the other hand, Sanjay Manjrekar insisted that SRH needs Kane Williamson in the middle order. The Kiwi batsman has not featured in the first two games with Jonny Bairstow replacing him in the middle order. Michael Holding/Mohammad Nabi have taken the other overseas slot while David Warner and Rashid Khan are certain starters for SRH.

New Zealand captain Williamson is yet to feature in IPL 2021 since he is not completely recovered from an elbow injury. SRH head coach Trevor Bayliss insisted that Williamson will need some time to be completely fit. Jason Roy will also be in contention for a place in the team since his quarantine will end before the next game.

The reason for Sehwag and Manjrekar’s tweets was the dramatic batting collapse from SRH against RCB. After the early dismissal of Wriddhiman Saha 1(9), they were comfortably placed at 96 for 1 with captain Warner and Manish Pandey forming a strong partnership for the second wicket. The Australian batsman’s poor shot-off RCB pacer Kyle Jamieson triggered a collapse from which SRH never recovered.

RCB gained confidence after Warner’s dismissal, their bowlers limiting the SRH batsman from playing big shots. With the pressure mounting, Bairstow, Pandey, and Abdul Samad were dismissed in one over. Jason Holder and Vijay Shankar couldn’t stay long on the pitch. Rashid Khan did give SRH some hope, but in the end, they lost the game by six runs. This was RCB’s second win in as many games in IPL 2021, but Virat Kohli remains wary about the challenge ahead. The RCB skipper is not getting carried away with these victories.

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