“Seriously special player”: Kane Williamson applauds Rahul Tripathi for playing a match-winning innings vs Mumbai Indians

Kane Williamson applauds Rahul Tripathi: The captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad hailed his best Indian Premier League 2022 batter.

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson sounded of relief at the sight of his team beating Mumbai Indians by 3 runs at the Wankhede Stadium tonight.

Williamson, who used the word “streak” in particular, summed up how SRH have played this season. A two-match losing streak followed by a five-match winning streak followed by a five-match losing streak witnessed Hyderabad returning to winning ways on Tuesday. Still mathematically active to claim a berth in the playoffs, Sunrisers will have to win their last match against Punjab Kings as well.

“Nice to break the streak. But also nice to win the wrestle. Had a few games where momentum wasn’t on our side and we couldn’t wrestle it back. All in all a very good performance and a lot of learning to come out of it,” Williamson told Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.

With MI batter Tim David hitting four sixes in T. Natarajan’s 18th over, all the hosts needed to win was 19 runs in two overs. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar used his experience and skills to bowl a match-winning wicket-maiden over to leave Indians needing 19 runs off the last over.

“Our death bowling has been a strength of ours and Bhuvi’s [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] one of the top death bowlers of the tournament. His contribution today and to bowl a maiden is an amazing contribution and match winning moment really,” Williamson mentioned.

Kane Williamson applauds Rahul Tripathi for playing a match-winning innings vs MI

Williamson, who wanted to bat first in this match, got what he wanted despite losing the toss as opposition captain Rohit Sharma was inclined towards fielding first. While SRH lost opening batter Abhishek Sharma cheaply, batter Rahul Tripathi made up for an early loss scoring 76 (44) with the help of nine fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 172.72.

In what was his 16th T20 half-century, it was Tripathi’s 10th IPL half-century, third for Sunrisers and at No. 3 in the IPL, second against Mumbai and at the Wankhede Stadium.

“He [Rahul Tripathi] is a seriously special player, he comes out and takes the momentum away. Have seen a number of times in this competition,” Williamson added.

Williamson, who sacrificed his opening position to accommodate Priyam Garg at the top of the order, benefited from the move as Garg scored 42 (26) with the help of four fours and two sixes in a 43-ball 78-run second-wicket partnership alongside Tripathi. Playing his first match of the season, Garg found his rhythm in spite of struggling a bit in the first few overs.

“Priyam [Garg] is a seriously talented cricketer. Great that he could get the opportunity today. He’s one of those players we’re going to see a lot more of. Got a really good head on his shoulders, a lot of potential but a lot of skill as well,” Williamson further said.