IPL 2021: Pleased to score fifty but disappointed to lose the game, says Bairstow

Chennai - SRH will next lock horns with RCB on Wednesday

Jonny Bairstow might have been a standout performer for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday but the English batsman was still disappointed as he was unable to take his side over the line against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

SRH had a disappointing start to the Indian Premier League as the David Warner-led side failed to chase the target of 188 against KKR on Sunday evening. SRH had got off to a bad start losing both openers David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha inside two overs.

But Bairstow (55) and Manish Pandey (61) revived the innings thanks to a brilliant 92-run partnership for the third wicket.

“Mixed emotions, pleased to score fifty but not getting over the line in the first match of the competition is disappointing. Manish played really nice, nice to build a strong partnership with him. It was important too, so that’s something we can build on going forward in the tournament,” said Bairstow in a video posted by SRH on Monday.

SRH will next lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday and Bairstow is confident ahead of the clash as he has got accustomed to the ground in Chennai

“We should keep working hard, try and execute our skills. When it comes to the next game, obviously we have played a match on the same ground but the pitch might be different. However, we know the dimensions of the ground and the right way to go about it,” said Bairstow.

Earlier in the day, star spinner Rashid Khan said the Hyderabad-based franchise has a strong squad and is capable of beating any team in the showpiece event.

“We played really well. As a bowling unit, we bowled well, as a batting unit, we batted well. But it was a matter of 10 runs in the end. We gave our 100 per cent and it was also the first game of the tournament,” said Rashid.

“We had a good game, bowling and batting were good. We will take the positives from the game and move on to the next game against Bangalore (RCB). We just need to do the right things and have self-belief,” he further said.

On the other hand, there are four debutants for Rajasthan Royals as Manan Vohra, Shivam Dube, Mustafizur Rahman and Chetan Sakariya are playing their first match for the franchise.

• IPL 2024