IPL 2017: ‘It was more difficult to bat in the first innings,’ says Yuvraj Singh post Sunrisers Hyderabad’s loss to Delhi Daredevils

It was not the best surface to bat on at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on Tuesday. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who had pummelled the strong Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, got off to a good start against the struggling Delhi Daredevils (DD) outfit on Sunday but lost their way in the middle overs before Yuvraj Singh resurrected the innings and gave the visitors a chance with 185 for 3, in the match 40 of IPL 2017. However, the southpaw’s 41-ball 70 went in vain as DD chased down the total in the 20th over and in process registered their third win from 9 games. Post match, Yuvraj felt it was more difficult to bat in the first innings and he believes that the visitors had put on a good score. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Delhi Daredevils (DD) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), IPL 2017, Match 40 at Delhi

“It was important for me to get some runs. Last couple of innings I could not spend enough time in the middle. The wicket was a bit tough to bat on in the first innings as the ball was gripping. I just thought I will try and play till the 16th (over) and attack in the last four. Was lucky that I was dropped and cashed-in in the final 4 overs,” said Yuvraj in the post-match press conference after his side’s loss.

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He lamented the dropped catch and blamed the bowlers for failing to contain runs and pick wickets at regular interval.

“We gave a lot of runs in the first 6 (overs). The dropped catch was crucial as early 2 wickets would have been key. It was not the best of starts by our bowlers and we did not pick wickets in the middle too. If you are chasing you need to pick up wickets at regular intervals. With the dew later, the ball was coming on nicely to the bat,” said the 35-year-old. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Delhi Daredevils (DD) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), IPL 2017, Match 40 at Delhi

Yuvraj also mentioned that a fit Ashish Nehra would add more strength to the side. “We rely a lot of Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] and Rashid Khan. Once we have a fully fit Ashish [Nehra] in the team, our side will look even more stronger.”

SRH are the defending champions and are currently on the third place in the IPL 2017 points table with 13 points from 11 matches. They next play Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) at Hyderabad on Saturday.