"SRH paid 14 crores for Cheteshwar Pujara with golden beard!" - Fans roast Kane Williamson and Co. for 5th loss on the trot in IPL 2022

Kane Williamson's SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) slumped to their fifth consecutive defeat in the IPL 2022 season, this time losing by 54 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday, May 14.

Chasing 178 runs to win a crucial encounter, SRH could only manage 123/8 and this loss has made their chances of making it to the playoffs even more difficult. Kane Williamson once again struggled to give his team a solid start in the powerplay.

The SRH captain could only score 9(17) as he was cleaned up by Andre Russell while trying to attempt a scoop shot. His innings once again put pressure on other batters and the required run rate proved to be too much for them to cope with in the end.

Fans on Twitter slammed Kane Williamson for being adamant about opening the batting and once again wasting the powerplay. Some also trolled SRH for losing five games on the bounce after being in second position on the points table at the halfway stage.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Kane Williamson continues to struggle with bat in IPL 2022

The 178-run target was definitely a competitive one, but not daunting. SRH needed a good start from their openers Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson to get a headstart in the chase.

While Sharma looked fluent at one end, Williamson struggled to maintain a healthy strike rate. Eventually the pressure got to him and he perished trying to attempt an uncharacteristic scoop shot.

Rahul Tripathi, who played a match-winning knock in the reverse fixture, also failed and the onus was on the young southpaw to keep going. Although Sharma dominated Sunil Narine, he played one shot too many against Varun Chakravarthy and perished in the process.

Once again, it was down to Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran to rescue SRH from the situation. However, Narine foxed Pooran and claimed an easy catch off his own bowling. Markram gave SRH some hope with a few lusty blows, but his wicket proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the SunRisers.

Andre Russell backed up his brilliant 49* with three wickets and this win would definitely make KKR feel really good about themselves. However, this also means that there is a possibility of multiple teams ending up at 14 points and the net run rate could then be the deciding factor as to who makes it to the playoffs.