SRH were exposed to tough conditions at Eden: Moody

Kolkata, May 5: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Tom Moody believes that after losing a few quick wickets, his side’s middle order was exposed to very hostile conditions at the Eden Gardens, where defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat them by 35 runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Monday.

“We lost a couple of early wickets and then we got exposed in conditions that were very challenging. We always knew coming here it would be a tough match,” Moody said at the post-match media conference.

“KKR have a firm grip on their home conditions, a team that is well balanced and suited to bowling in this turning and slow conditions. Only taking them out of this environment you can have an evenly matched contest.”

Moody regretted his side’s sluggish fielding and bowling effort that eventually led to the home side getting to 167/7.

“It wasn’t our best bowling or fielding performance tonight and I believe KKR ended up with 15-20 runs more... the first time our bowling unit did not fare as well as they have throughout the tourment,” he said.

Asked if SRH are heavily reliant on their two opening batsman — skipper David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, Mooday said: “Every team in the tourment is dependent on their opening partnership. (Gautam) Gambhir and (Robin) Uthappa are an important part of KKR’s batting unit just as Warner and Shikhar Dhawan are important for us.”

However, the coach found positives out of the sub-standard show put up by his team, saying the team is starting to build something in the middle order. IANS