Jason Holder against RCB
All-rounder Jason Holder has played a pivotal role for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the on-going IPL edition. Holder scalped three wickets and scored an unbeaten 24 as SRH booked a place in the Qualifier by thumping Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in the Eliminator on Friday.
After putting up an impressive bowling show and restricting RCB to a modest 131-run total, SRH's batting unit, led by Kane Williamson and Holder, hunted down the target with a delivery to spare. With this win, the Hyderabad side has now clinched victory in their last four fixtures. One of the reasons behind their winning run has been a robust bowling force.
The likes of Sandeep Sharma, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Shahbaz Nadeem and Holder have stepped up and delivered match-winning performances. Following their comprehensive victory over RCB, Holder heaped praise on the SRH bowling contingent and said that Nadeem, in particular, has been outstanding for them.
"I think the dynamics of our bowling attack is we got skills. Sandeep comes in and swings, I myself got the movement and then Natarajan comes him with very subtle pace," said Holder at the post-match press conference.
"I think it's a really good balance and then we got a world-class spinner Rashid Khan and Nadeem too. He (Nadeem) has come in and David has really used him well in the tournament and we have been able to see the best in Nadeem," Holder further said.
Holder also rued Wriddhiman Saha's injury which kept the wicketkeeper-batsman out from the clash against RCB. Since returning to the playing XI, Saha has been phenomenal at the top along with skipper David Warner.
"I'm not sure about his fitness, to be honest. Saha has done really well for us after coming back into the team. It's hard to lose him. We have got a replacement in the group, but he is the guy who has been around for so many years, and we back him to execute," said Holder on Saha's injury.
"Morale in the camp is very good obviously we have done very well at the back half of the tournament. We picked at the right time and gained excellent momentum, and different guys have been putting their hands on different occasions for us. One more big effort and we are definitely in the final," he further said.
After their impressive show at Abu Dhabi, SRH will now face Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second Qualifier of the tournament. The winner of that clash will face defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the summit clash.
