We want Sundar to be great all-rounder: Lara

Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered their fourth defeat in six outings in this edition of the Indian Premier League after they were outplayed by Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets at home on Friday, April 21. 

After being asked to bat first, the Orange Army opted for a new-look opening combination with Abhishek Sharma and Harry Brook striding out to the middle. 

While the experiment did not work well, as Brook was dismissed in the fifth over with the scoreboard reading 35, Brian Lara stated the team would continue to back the duo to come good in the upcoming fixtures. 

"The experiment of trying to get Harry Brook up the order produced a 100. If you would ask what team we would want to have at the beginning of the tournament if we had a fit Abhishek, then it would be Abhishek and Mayank Agarwal," he said in the post-match press conference. 

"Harry Brook has given the innings some impetus in a couple of times that he has been able to get off. You can see he has the intention to score. Opening slot is the area we have shuffled a lot, and we pretty much know that the left-right combination is not a bad one. It didn't entirely work today, but there was some promise and would like to see them continue for a period of time," he further added. 

With the duo opening the innings, Mayank Agarwal walked in at number six for the visiting side, but the former West Indian batter confirmed it was merely based on the start they got in the first six overs. 

"With Mayank, you don't want to trouble the batting order too much. Rahul Tripathi is at number three position, and he's quite happy. When you have a player like Mayank, he's very committed and willing to do anything, and it always helps."

"He backs himself, and today as well, he had a positive approach, which didn't work out today, but I like the attitude, which is most important for the team," Lara said. 

The Head Coach of the side further added that the team is a well-rounded unit and shared insights on the performance of Washington Sundar, who is yet to pick up a wicket in six innings. 

"Washington's value to the team is both with the ball and bat, but we have got players who can play at the top positions. With Washington, yes, we want him to be that great all-rounder with both bat and ball, but I think it's going to take time."

"Pressing the button and saying that this kid has potential and let's get him up the batting order, that's pretty much pressing the panic button. We are not going to do that, and on paper, we have a strong squad, but we have just not fired," Lara added. 

The 53-year-old also rued lack of match awareness in their batting innings as the reason behind a modest total on the board. "On a surface like this, our expectations were high, and we were trying to make the most of the new ball and get to a score of 170 or so."

"We know CSK will dominate the middle overs and squeeze you, which they did, but we did not handle it well as we should," he concluded. 

Surnisers Hyderabad will now Delhi Capitals at home on Monday, April 24, in an evening encounter.