IPL 2018: Kane Williamson is quite like MS Dhoni, says Sunil Gavaskar

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has compared Kane Williamson's captaincy style to that of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He was of the opinion that both, Dhoni and Williamson, share the ability to keep their calm in crunch situations and help their teammates maintain their composure as well.

Under Williamson's captaincy Sunrisers have defied all odds and even without a player of David Warner's ability, they have managed to win seven of their nine encounters thus far. SRH have developed a habit of defending low totals, quite similar to Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the IPL's first few editions.

The New Zealand captain himself has scored 354 runs in the tournament at an average of over 50 and has ably replaced Warner, who at times, carried the team single-handedly throughout, most notably in 2016.

Sunrisers are also equal on points with the Dhoni-led CSK despite playing a match fewer than the latter. However, when both the teams faced each other earlier in the tournament, Chennai came out on top despite an 84-run knock from Williamson.

"Their skipper Kane Williamson is the glue that holds the team together. Last season, he didn’t play most of the games since only four overseas players can play in the eleven and their skipper David Warner was the preferred batting option.

"This year, with Warner not there and with the additional responsibility of captaining the team, the New Zealand captain has raised the level of the game several notches," Gavaskar said

"The other aspect that is seen about Williamson is how cool he stays even when things seem to be unravelling for the team. In this, he is quite like MS Dhoni whose cool exterior keeps the jittery team members cool too."

SRH's next assignment is Royal Challengers Bangalore, who they face for the first time this year. A win against RCB in Hyderabad tonight (7th May) would see Williamson and his team go two points clear of Chennai at the top of the table.

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