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Cricket Players4, 6, 4, 4: Kane Williamson takes on Shardul Thakur, remains unbeaten on 26 off 10 balls against CSK in IPL
IPL 2021: Had it not been for Kane Williamson's cameo towards the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad would have struggled to post a decent total against Chennai Super Kings.
That Sunrisers Hyderabad reached 171/3 against Chennai Super Kings in Match 24 of the IPL 2021 was mainly due to the efforts of one man. Sure, David Warner and Manish Pandey's half-centuries played their part, but had it not been for Kane Williamson's cameo towards the end, SRH would have struggled for even 160.
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Warner and Pandey added 106-runs for the second wicket, but as great an effort it was from the two batsmen, the rate at which they scored wasn't the greatest. In fact, Warner and Pandey batted out almost 14 overs for their partnership, scoring at a strike-rate of 103.64 and 132.6 respectively, and it was only after the stand was broken that SRH were lifted towards the end.
Williamson, who batted at No. 3 in the previous game and looked rather good, was surprisingly left to bat at No. 4. But when his turn came, Williamson turned the heat on CSK and their bowlers immediately. Williamson opened his account with a single off the first ball he faced, but followed it with boundaries off the next five.
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With Shardul Thakur bowling the 19th over, Williamson targeted the India fast bowler and lent tucked into him with utter disdain. Having hit his first four off Lungi Ngidi, Williamson cracked Thakur for 4, 6, 4, 4 to make it 20 off the over. Thakur began with a full toss, which Williamson put away towards midwicket. The next shot had class written all over it, as the New Zealand captain gave himself room to hit the ball over the deep extra cover boundary.
Next ball, Thakur missed his length yet again, bowling a full toss. Again, Williamson's eyes lit up and he dispatched it with immense power for a one bounce four. Thakur pulled back his length the next ball, but over did it, bowling a short ball, which Williamson dually dispatched with a cut shot over the infield. Thakur ended his four overs going wicketless and giving away 44 runs.
In the end, Kedar Jadhav got into the act as well, smashing a four and a six off the last two balls of the final over, to lift SRH to over 170.
