David Warner lauds bowlers after Sunrisers Hyderabad avoid elimination

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner credited his bowlers for their 22-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League Eliminator at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday night.

Asked to bat first, SRH posted a competitive 162/8 off their 20 overs with Yuvraj Singh (44) and Moises Henriques (31) playing crucial knocks. Their bowlers then stemmed the run flow and picked up regular wickets to restrict a power-packed KKR line-up to only 140/8.

NEHRA ABSENCE DOESN'T HURT SRH

In the absence of the injured Ashish Nehra, pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/19) and Henriques (2/17) stepped up to star with the ball, while Yuvraj effected a crucial
run out in the match as SRH booked a date with Gujarat Lions in the second qualifier at the same venue on Friday.

"The bowlers have shown fantastic appetite. The experience of injured (Ashish) Nehra was a big miss for us. His experience is second to none. But the guys have stepped up. Barinder Sran has been bowling really well. He is still learning and big credit goes to Bhuvneswar Kumar because he has been helping him (Sran) a lot day in and day out. That's the good thing about this team that everyone is willing to learn," Warner said praising his pacers.

The fielders were also on top of their game last night which made the job of the captain so much more easier. Warner heaped praises on the fielding unit.

SRH FIELDING FLOORS WARNER

"The pleasing thing from my point of view is the way we fielded in the match. We were pretty sloppy throughout the tournament. But the guys came out and took some very good catches. I was very pleased with our ground fielding," he said at the post-match press conference.

Warner though feels Sunrisers were a few runs short. "I thought we were probably 10-15 runs short. Before the toss I was in two minds whether to bat or bowl. I always felt playing here in the past when you get good runs on the board and put pressure on the opposition it's always hard to get going. That's how we felt when we were batting," he said.

The Australian also had a special word of mention for KKR's chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who took 3 wickets for 35 runs which restricted SRH from touching the 170-run mark.

"We talked about not losing (wickets) in clumps. But I was really disappointed the way I got out. Yadav bowled well on the turning track. But it's always hard for a young bowler to come and bowl to an experienced player like Yuvi. He is going to be a good spinner in the years to come definitely," Warner said.

Asked about their next match against Gujarat Lions, the 29-year-old said: "We know who their key players are. We know they have got very good firing power. Dwayne Smith has been playing very well. Their openers are going to come hard. For us it's about starting well as a unit whether we bat or bowl first. We need to make sure that we execute our plans."