The Sunrisers Hyderabad took on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2023 Indian Premier League on Thursday; both sides met in a bid to revive their fortunes in the ongoing season. While the KKR are ranked 8th in the table, Hyderabad are also enduring a forgettable season so far, currently ranked ninth in the table. Needless to say, both teams have suffered inconsistency but while the Knight Riders have dearly missed their first-team skipper Shreyas Iyer, SRH are yet to fixate on an effective team combination.
As the season reaches its business end, it looks increasingly tricky for both sides to make it for playoffs; while they face must-win situations in all of their remaining matches, the two sides can also spoil playoffs chances of teams above them and former India opener Virender Sehwag believes both, KKR and SRH have nothing to lose at this point.
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Sehwag also drew a reference to India's T20 World Cup triumph in 2007, when a young team led by first-time captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni upset the odds to lift the title, beating Pakistan in the final.
“When you're down, you don't have much expectations from yourself. And due to that, the players can just enjoy themselves out there and they can actually perform better,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz as he talked about KKR and SRH.
{{/usCountry}}“When you're down, you don't have much expectations from yourself. And due to that, the players can just enjoy themselves out there and they can actually perform better,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz as he talked about KKR and SRH.
{{/usCountry}}“The best example for that is our performances in the 2007 T20 World Cup. We didn't have any hopes, nor anyone had hopes from us. It was a new team with a new captain. we enjoyed ourselves, hit fours and sixes, bowlers bowled well, and we won the final. So, when no one has expectations from you and you know you have nothing to lose, you can actually enjoy more and perform well. And then, you can actually have a chances for qualification,” the former India opener further said.
The Knight Riders have three wins from nine matches in the season so far, while the SRH has as many wins in a game less.