The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League has reached a very interesting conjuncture where 7 teams are fighting to occupy the three remaining slots in the playoffs. Sunrisers Hyderabad kept themselves alive in the hunt as they won their 13th match against Mumbai Indians. After their win, Matthew Hayden backs 31-year-old batter who is representing SRH this year and has proved to be an asset for the franchise.
Matthew Hayden backs the SRH batter
Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t start their campaign on a winning note, but bounced back in style as they won 5 consecutive matches to earn 10 crucial points. Unfortunately, they couldn’t carry on the momentum and lost the next 5 matches which dented their playoffs hope to a great extent. However, the team got back to winning ways in the 65th match of IPL and Matthey Hayden backs Rahul Tripathi who played a vital knock for his team.
SRH was invited to bat first after MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss. Opener Abhishek Sharma fell early but Rahul Tripathi along with Priyam Garg notched-up a 68-run partnership. The second wicket partnership was followed by another 76-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran. Tripathi made sure that his team get to a competitive total and his inning has impressed Matthew Hayden who backs him to make debut for team India.
“I just love his ability to hit up front so hard. That powerplay is so significant, especially when the wickets are getting slower, so the first six overs, you have to make use of it. The way Tripathi took up the responsibility was good to watch. I think he has got some real potential in the future to go all the way at the international level. In particular, what impresses the most is his ability to play short-pitched bowling. Not saying he will be picked, but he has the game on bouncy wickets,” said Matthew Hayden on Star Sports.
Rahul Tripathi scored 77 runs off just 44 balls in the contest and he has been the most successful SRH batsmen this year with 393 runs in 13 innings with an average of 39.30. All the other batsmen have not looked in good touch, but Tripathi has been the silver lining for the franchise and that’s the reason why Matthew Hayden backs him for a debut in team India.