IPL 2020: Williamson’s knock took pressure off me, says SRH all-rounder Holder

Abu Dhabi - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to rise to the challenge in the Eliminator

Kane Williamson smashed his 14th IPL half-century while Jason Holder played a cautious knock as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) kept their finals hope alive and the all-rounder says that it was the New Zealand skipper who took the pressure off him while chasing a “tricky” score.

Chasing 132, SRH were 67/4 for but Williamson and Holder ensured that they did not suffer any more hiccups as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six-wicket in the Eliminator on Friday. Holder said a “cool and calm” Williamson had made his job easy during the chase.

“All-rounder role is very important but we have a cool, calm customer like you (Williamson) who makes a job easier. Probably didn’t get the flow as the wicket was a little bit tricky but good to finish the game for the team and you took most of the pressure off me,” Holder told Williamson in a video posted on iplt20.com.

“Nine off six could be tricky and challenging for teams but to squeeze a boundary of covers and one behind point was ideal and at the end, a win is a win,” he added.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to rise to the challenge in the Eliminator clash against SRH as Holder and T Natarajan starred with the ball to restrict the Virat Kohli-led side to 131/7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Holder picked three while Natarajan scalped two wickets as no batsmen except AB de Villiers got going for RCB.

“The key wickets in powerplay were crucial, there was enough seam movement and a pace upfront so I tried to use that as my advantage. We really complimented well and we have been able to restrict team to manageable totals and hopefully, we can continue this in the last couple of games of the IPL,” said Holder.

SRH will now face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 here on Sunday (November 8). The winner of that match will play the summit clash against Mumbai Indians.

• IPL 2024