Team Hyderabad bowed out of the Indian T20 League with another close loss on Wednesday. It was Team Delhi, who dished out a fine performance and held their nerves when it mattered to clinch a two-wicket win and qualify for the playoffs.
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Having managed just 12 points in the league phase, Hyderabad came into the knock-outs with the worst record among the four sides. And it was no surprise that their skipper Kane Williamson cut a sorry figure post their loss. "To qualify With six wins, it doesn't look pretty," said Williamson after the match on Wednesday. "But it is what it is and we were the fourth team in eight teams and is what we were able to achieve. It is a little bit Frustrating when the margin is so small. We were on the losing side of so many of those margins."
Moreover, Williamson himself had endured a difficult run scoring just 156 runs in his nine innings, a stark contrast to 735 runs across 17 innings last season. Not only did he struggle with fitness early on in the season but he also found It difficult to get going when back, struggling to make sense of the kind of role he's supposed to play after the big opening stands between Jonny Bairstow and David Warner.
"For me, personally, my season has been a little bit frustrating, a little bit disjointed. But then, if you reflect and try and look at it with a rational mind, there's been so many occasions where our openers have been outstanding, which You are trying to adapt as well as you can and some of your contributions look a little bit different. But at the same time, you are going out to make a contribution It's one of the other things. It's the nature of the sport and we try to learn and improve," Williamson said.