“You got to use a little bit of upstairs to get the job done” - Brian Lara slams SRH batters after loss to KKR

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Brian Lara blamed the batting unit after they choked in a chase of 172 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, May 4. Taking a dig at his batters, he commented that while being aggressive is fine, they also need to use a little bit of “upstairs” to get the job done.

SRH went down to KKR by five runs in match number 47 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Chasing 172, Hyderabad were well-placed at 124/4 after 14 overs. However, they slumped following the dismissal of Heinrich Klaasen (36) and Aiden Markram (41), finishing on 166/8.

In the post-match press conference, Lara lamented the continued batting failures of the franchise. He commented:

"We keep losing a couple of wickets in the powerplay. That always sets you back a bit. We asked [Heinrich] Klaasen, who has been batting tremendously for us, to do all the hardwork again. He's coming in at No.6 and we've got five quality players before him.

"It's always been a task, I wouldn't say uphill. Obviously the batters will know that the responsibility of winning the game on such a good batting track lay in their hands and we were unable to do it.

“I just believe that we have to place a little more importance on partnerships and understanding a little bit of match awareness. It's all great to be aggressive and have all the intent. But you got to use a little bit of upstairs to get the job done.”

SRH were in trouble at 53/3 in the sixth over, but a fourth-wicket stand of 70 between Klaasen and Markram put them in a strong position. Both, however, perished attempting aggressive strokes, after which leg-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy (1/20) tied down SRH’s batters.

Asked if Hyderabad have a weakness again spin, Lara replied:

"Markram and Klaasen did put on a good partnership, we got ourselves right back in the game with a couple of big overs and lost a couple of wickets at a very crucial stage of the match." Lara added, "I wouldn't say it's a weakness against spin or anything like that. I just believe that we had a game to win. We have to hold our hands up and say they didn't beat us, we lost the game.”

Following Klaasen and Markram’s exit, SRH also lost Marco Jansen (1). Abdul Samad (21) played a handy cameo but fell to Chakaravarthy in the last over.

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“Harry will have to work out what's going wrong” - Lara on another failure for Brook

The inevitable question surrounding Harry Brook’s inability to deliver with the bat also came up at the press conference yet again. The England batter registered his second consecutive duck on Thursday.

Sharing his thoughts on Brook, Lara said that the cricketer is working hard, but needs to figure out a way to succeed. The Windies legend commented:

"Harry works very hard in the nets. He hits a lot of balls, he looks in good shape in the nets. When you look at him batting and preparing for the match, he looks in pretty good shape. Harry will have to work out what's going wrong.

“I'm always here with an ear to listen to or give advice anytime needed. We also have a batting coach in Hemang [Badani] as well. So we've got the ingredients to work with any of the players. Hopefully if Harry improves it will be a great benefit for the team."

In nine matches, Brook has scored 163 runs at an average of 20.38 and a strike rate of 121.64.