IPL 2023: Need someone like Tewatia, Miller who could finish the game, says SRH coach Brian Lara

Hyderabad, April 19 (IANS) After losing to five-time champions Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2023 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Brian Lara admitted that the side is still looking around for a batter in their middle-order who can finish matches like the way Rahul Tewatia and David Miller do.

In chasing 193, Hyderabad had contributions from Mayank Agarwal, captain Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. But none of the trio could stay long to score big. Though Marco Jansen and Washington Sundar played some good cameos, they weren't enough for Hyderabad to win the match and are now at ninth place in the points table.

"It's a work in progress. We need to have guys who are thinking the game throughout right till the end. There are some great examples in the IPL. (Rahul) Tewatia, (David) Miller, we do need that sort of person to understand how to calculate going down, who are the bowlers going to come and plan properly. We've been working on that," said Lara in the post-match press conference.

In the match, Hyderabad also lost Harry Brook and Rahul Tripathi early in power-play, an aspect which Lara thinks has to be improved in coming games.

"We seemed to be losing too many wickets in the powerplay throughout the five games we have played. That means you are always trying to play catch-up, trying to consolidate the situation to get better. We will have to improve in that area," the SRH coach said.

"It was difficult but we batted pretty deep. We were always in with a chance but losing wickets always sets you back. We bowled pretty well in the powerplay. I didn't see a problem there. They lost their first wicket in the fifth over probably and we lost it in the second over so that sets you back," he added.

Asked about his thoughts at the start of the chase, Lara disclosed Hyderabad were in the hunt to reach 193, but losing wickets at wrong moments set them back.

"I felt we were always in the game and I felt the pitch was maybe more like a 175. It was a little bit slow off the deck. We tried to stay in the game throughout but we lost wickets consistently throughout our chase and it slowed us down," he said.

"Both Mumbai Indians and us were coming off of back-to-back victories so we knew they were picking up some momentum and I felt that they played better cricket and came out on top," Lara concluded.

Hyderabad's next game in IPL 2023 will be against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.