Legendary batter Virender Sehwag had a golden suggestion for Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad who are enduring a turbulent season in this IPL. While the playoff hopes for both franchises are at stake, Sehwag suggested they should enjoy their game without thinking about the ultimate outcome. Ahead of Thursday’s face-off between Kolkata and Hyderabad, Sehwag told Cricbuzz that players can actually perform better when they have nothing to lose and don’t have expectations from themselves.
In a bid to clear his thoughts, Sehwag brought out the reference to India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, which was clinched by a young team playing under a first-time captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“Our performances in the 2007 T20 World Cup serve as the best example of that. Neither we nor anyone else had any hopes for us,” the former Indian opener recalled.
Team India entered into the inaugural T20 World Cup as an underdog. While global cricket fans did not consider them a contender for the title, MS Dhoni-led unit overcame all odds and finally, went on to lift the trophy by beating Pakistan in a thrilling final.
Reminiscing about the historic journey, Sehwag said, “There was a new captain leading a new team. We had a good time, hit fours and sixes, the bowlers did a good job, and we won the final in the end.”
Kolkata edged past Hyderabad in the crucial fixture, winning the match by 5 runs. Following the defeat, Hyderabad are mathematically out of the contest, winning only 3 out of their 9 matches. Meanwhile, Kolkata will be required to continue the flow for the rest of the season. The Purple Knights need to win all of their remaining matches to secure a place among the top four.
Batting first, Kolkata’s top order suffered a rare collapse as they lost three wickets in the first five overs. But their middle order showed great composure and took them to a worth-fighting total of 171 runs. Rinku Singh was the highest scorer and made 46 off 41 balls, while skipper Nitish Rana scored 42 runs.
In reply, Hyderabad went through a similar situation thanks to some clinical bowling from Varun Chakravarty, Harshit Rana and Shardul Thakur. Vaibhav Arora was quite expensive in his three-over spell but got two wickets under his belt.
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