Bengaluru, March 29 (IANS) Head coach Daniel Vettori motivated the players after Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) six wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday calling the performance ‘rusty but far from alarming.
Reflecting on the outcome, Vettori admitted it was one of those days you want to avoid, but stressed the importance of focusing on positives rather than dwelling on the result.
“I think today is one of those days you want to avoid because it symbolizes a little bit of rust,” he said. “But you also look at the things that went reasonably well and the things that went against us,” he said in a dressing room video released by SRH on X.
The former New Zealand captain was particularly impressed with SRH’s batting effort, highlighting the team’s recovery from the powerplay where they lost three wickets to post a competitive total of 201 under challenging circumstances.
“From a batting display, to get from that powerplay to a very good score shows the quality of that top seven, The way you guys came together in the first game, even in challenging circumstances, was really impressive,” he noted
“Ishan and Klaasen managing that phase, and then the work at the back end to put us in a good position, was very impressive,” he added.
However, the coach was candid about the shortcomings with the ball, pointing out that execution of plans was well below expectations.
“The challenge for us is to understand what we did poorly with the ball,” he said. “We spoke about finding the right length and sticking to our strengths, but today we were quite a long way off it.”
He revealed that conceding too many hittable deliveries proved costly.
“Ten full balls went for six. When that happens, you’re always up against the game,” he explained.
Despite the bowling struggles, Vettori refrained from singling out individuals, instead framing it as a collective learning opportunity
“I don’t want to make this about bowlers not doing their job. It’s a challenge for all of us heading into the next game,” he said.
Looking ahead to their next fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, Vettori emphasized the importance of preparation and adaptability.
“We’ve got two training days in Kolkata to rectify things, understand that wicket and plan how we’re going to bowl to those batsmen,” he said.
He also highlighted lapses in the field, attributing them to early-season rustiness.
“Today felt tentative. Guys were in the wrong positions at times. But when we bowl well, the fielding will come along as well,” he observed.
Vettori urged players to view the loss as a stepping stone rather than a setback and look to improve the fault lines.
“We understand it was a rusty performance and we weren’t at our best, but it starts now, Tidy up two balls, and suddenly things look very different. These are small margins.”
“Challenge yourself over the next few days, come with a plan, and we’ll make it work from there,” he concluded.
Despite posting a competitive 201/9, powered by a blistering 80 from Ishan Kishan and a late surge from Aniket Verma, SRH were outplayed by a dominant RCB batting unit led by Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal as they chased down the target in just 15.4 overs against a sloppy bowling effort from the visitors.
–IANS
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