IPL 2020 | Priyam Garg a âreally excitingâ talent for the future, states Kane Williamson
Garg struck two wondrous sixes in Qualifier 2
|@ IPL T20
Sunrisers Hyderabadâs Kane Williamson heaped praise on young Priyam Garg, who played a handy cameo against Delhi, and claimed that the 19-year-old is an exciting player who has a bright future ahead. Williamson further expressed disappointment over the Sunrisers having not made the final.
Having been purchased for INR 1.90 crore in the auction, and having torn the domestic circuit apart last year, Indiaâs U19 skipper Priyam Garg entered IPL 2020 with quite a reputation and he did instant justice to the same with a picture-perfect fifty against the Super Kings. Post the CSK game, opportunities for the youngster were few and far between, but on Sunday in Qualifier 2, Garg, in the absence of Saha, was promoted to open the batting. The 19-year-old struck two monstrous sixes and showcased, yet again, brimming talent, before was dismissed prematurely by a ripping in-cutter by Stoinis. Garg departed for a quickfire 17, but his innings made it clear that he was there to stay in the long-haul.
Speaking in the post-match press-conference, Kane Williamson echoed the same sentiments and heaped praise on young Garg, who he described as a âreally exciting young player for the future.â
âLook I donât know the exact thoughts (behind Priyam Garg opening) but what I feel was that heâs got a huge amount of talent but perhaps throughout the season, hadn't got repeated opportunities. Every time you watch him play, particularly in the nets, you can see how well he hits the ball and he showed that again tonight where he hit some beautiful shots. He is a really exciting young player for the future, thatâs for sure,â Williamson said in the post-match press conference.
Garg was sent out to open the batting to up the ante pretty early on, thanks to SRH chasing a mammoth 190, but while the youngster did manage to inject some early momentum, the rest of the top-order collapsed cheaply, reducing SRH to 44-3 inside the first 5 overs. Williamson noted that the jolts up-front, in the form of early wickets, made it tough for the side to chase down a daunting total and expressed disappointment over SRH having not made their second final in 3 years.
âDelhi are a really good side and I think they were trying to find the rhythm in their play, like we were at one point. Tonight they played very, very well and put a competitive total on the board. Going into the second innings, there were always risks needed to be taken but unfortunately we didnât get off to the best of starts but managed to build a few partnerships through the middle period and we still had a bit of an opportunity. Real shame to not kick-on and make the final, but I think the guys, particularly in the last three weeks, can be proud of how they played.â
After losing each of their first three games, and also losing key players due to injury, SRH were touted for the wooden spoon, but Warnerâs men turned things around drastically towards the end to surge into the playoffs as the most âin-formâ team in the competition. Williamson expressed that he would have âlovedâ to see SRH make the final, but claimed that it was an effort and a half from the boys to finish where they did, particularly after the tumultuous start.
âSeason of fine lines, I think. We had a number of close losses and we werenât perhaps playing at our best and I think every team is very very strong. Everyoneâs beaten everyone else, youâve got to be at the top of your game and I think as a team, we were looking at that rhythm to our play and it perhaps took a little bit of time. I think a lot of teams were in a similar boat. It was nice we were able to find it at the crunch time and win 4 or 5 in a row but we would have loved to have gone through.â
