IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad executed their plans to perfection against MI, says VVS Laxman

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman has complemented Mohammed Nabi and Shikhar Dhawan for executing the side’s plans perfectly to win against table-leaders Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. “We know that Mumbai Indians is a very good side. They are the side in form. So, we had a certain game plan and certain strategy and even our combination was changed based on the kind of players they got in their line-up,” said Laxman. “Even today, it was fantastic to see (Mohammed) Nabi, the way he started off,” “The first two, three overs set the tone for the match. An important thing was we didn’t allow that momentum to shift. We did not allow Mumbai Indian batsmen to come back into the game…” [caption id=“attachment_3433140” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of VVS Laxman. PTI[/caption] “Overall, I think we executed our plans to perfection,” Laxman said. SRH won the match by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare. The Hyderabad team improved its chances to the playoffs with the win and it is now placed at fourth position on the points table with 15 points. SRH made major changes in team composition in the match on Monday (by dropping in-form Kane Williamson and Nabi) and the changes were made keeping the opposition in mind, Laxman said. “It was more about left-handers in Mumbai Indians lineup. Some of them in good form, starting with Parthiv (Patel) and also Nitish Rana at number three…” “But, when you have only four overseas players who can play, you have to work out what is the best combination on that particular day, against the particular opposition keeping the conditions in mind,” he said. The changes were also about trying out various options, he said. “This year, unlike the previous two years, we are spoilt for choices. Sometimes, it is good… This year we got various options and they can just walk in the playing XI and perform, just the way Nabi did on Monday evening,” he said. Replying to a query about conversations from the dug-out with Captain David Warner, when MI was batting, he said such a thing is quite common. “T20 cricket is so quick. Sometimes, some outside help may be useful to the captain. It is not the first time it’s happening. This will not be last time it will happen,” he said. Yuvraj Singh’s hand got jammed into the ground when he was fielding and there is enough time for him to recover as the team would play its next match after four days, he said, also complementing him for going ahead with playing despite the pain.