"It was a surprise in a lot of ways; we certainly do not want to be doing that going forward" - Kane Williamson on the no-ball spree by SRH against RR in IPL 2022 

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Kane Williamson offered his thoughts behind an uncharacteristic slew of no-balls by his bowlers in the first innings. Rajasthan Royals (RR) compiled a comprehensive 61-runs victory over SRH at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

SRH bowled four no-balls in quick succession early on in the first innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's no-ball proved to be the most costly out of the lot. The right-arm pacer set up Jos Buttler beautifully with trademark swing bowling early on and had the Englishman caught in the slips for a duck. However, the third umpire ruled out the delivery as a no-ball, giving Jos Buttler a major reprieve.

Admitting that he was surprised by the succession of no-balls in the early overs, Williamson said in the post-match presentation:

"It was a surprise in a lot of ways, we certainly do not want to be doing that going forward. Clearly, it presents a number of extra deliveries in an innings and when you take a wicket off a no ball, it is never nice. At the same time, it is important for us to look at areas where we can improve. There's a number of things you cannot control."

Despite the no-balls from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik and Washington Sundar in the powerplay, the SRH captain admitted that the bowlers began the proceedings rather well. Williamson said:

"I mean, I think we started beautifully with the ball, we had our opportunities and we have seen in all the games so far, that there has been a lot of swing and perhaps a bit of assistance with the new ball first up. We looked likely to make some inroads but unfortunately, some fine margins in this game, it did not go quite our way, from then on it was obviously a very good surface and a very difficult team to stop. "

Williamson added:

"So, Rajasthan played outstandingly well and for us, it's looking at it logically I suppose, and understanding that there is definitely a number of things to touch on and move on as a side."

The new-look Rajasthan Royals were dominant in their approach and won the contest by a margin of 61 runs. SRH find themselves at the bottom of the IPL points table following a very poor run rate after the first round of fixtures in IPL 2022.

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"I'm sure he is just going to continue to get better" - Kane Williamson on Umran Malik

Despite playing only half a season in the IPL, SRH bestowed their faith on Umran Malik. The young speedster was retained by the franchise for a sum of ₹4 crore.

The Kashmir-born pacer exhibited his raw pace and while he was among the runs, he picked up two crucial wickets in the form of Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal.

Opining that Umran Malik will only grow from here with experience, Williamson said:

"Incredibly exciting, obviously he has got that raw pace and hopefully he continues to evolve as a cricketer. He is young, he got some experience last year, which was really valuable, and I'm sure he is just going to continue to get better."

Admitting that the squad needs to get together to addresss their issues and work on it before the next game, Williamson said:

"We are going to sit down, we have a few days or so between our next match. There are a number of things we do want to touch on, because the nature of T20 cricket can be fickle, but what other things for us as a side we can coontinue to do."

Williamson conclued:

For us as a young team, we want to make sure, we stay engaged throughout and be nice and clear on what we are trying to execute."

SRH will next take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the DY Patil Stadium on April 4 (Sunday), according to the IPL 2022 schedule.