SRH assistant coach Simon Helmot
Credit : X / @SunRisers
Chennai: It was all down to a few good deliveries, said Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach Simon Helmot as he tried to explain his team's poor batting performance in the IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders, conceding that the plan to be aggressive fell flat quite early in the match.
SRH were hammered by eight wickets after putting just 113 runs on the board. KKR overhauled the target in just over 10 overs to claim their third IPL trophy on Sunday night.
"We were not going to change our brand or approach. We wanted to be aggressive but also smart and work the situations through," Helmot said in the post-match press conference.
"Our plan certainly wasn't to get bowled out for 113 in the 18th over. We played in a really positive way, but a few good deliveries (from KKR bowlers) early on put us on the back foot. Unfortunately, it was one of those days," he added.
Batting first, the SRH top-order failed to get going, with the three batters getting dismissed for single figures. Big-hitting opener Travis Head fell for his third duck in four matches, dismissed by left-arm pacer Vaibhav Arora.
"Travis is experienced in playing left-arm pace. We have had games where both he and Abhishek (Sharma) have scored runs," the Australian said.
"Obviously, we couldn't get as much (support) from the middle order as we would have liked, but it was a fairly good ball to get rid of him (Head)," he added.
Hailing KKR's performance this season, Helmot said the Shreyas Iyer-led franchise displayed an aggressive mentality throughout the season.
"We have got to give credit to KKR. They have had a great season, winning 79 % of their games and playing an aggressive brand with the bat, ball and on the field. But, we will come (back) hard next season," he continued.
"They (KKR) are a very balanced unit with their four pace bowlers and two very accomplished spinners. They have been a terrific team with an excellent batting depth and are deserving victors in this IPL." KKR pacers had a brilliant day in office with Andre Russell grabbing three wickets, while Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana finishing with two wickets each.
Rana has been the talk of the season and has signed off as the team's second-highest wicket-taker, next to spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
"He is a tricky competitor. He has some variations, especially with the quicker and full balls. He's got those slower ones as well," Helmot said in praise of Rana.
"He certainly has the ability to adapt. There is a rich battery of fast bowlers in India, and that's what the IPL often brings out, which is a good offer for the Indian team. Also, we will be looking for a lot of players like him." When asked to pick positives in SRH's performance this season, Helmot credited pacers T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar along with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
"I think Nattu and Bhuvi had a terrific finish to the season, along with Nitish Reddy, who is also probably one of the best fielders in the competition
"It's no fluke that we managed to turn the tables from our (bottom-place) finish last year. We will use it as a catalyst coming into the season next year," he concluded.