Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson has defended his decision to use Carlos Brathwaite at the death overs and praised his bowlers after a two-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier of Indian Premier league.
"Yeah, certainly we backed Carlos (Brathwaite) with his death bowling. That's why he's in this side, as another death option.
“When you're under pressure, sometimes, life gets a little bit tough," Williamson said at the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
The New Zealand batting maestro added, "Credit to the way Faf batted — he batted beautifully."
Brathwaite, playing in only his second game of the season, conceded 20 runs in the 18th over.
With 43 needed off last three overs, Chennai’s South African international Faf du Plessis, who opened the batting, launched into Brathwaite's 18th over and smashed him for 20 runs.
"It's obviously very tough to swallow because we certainly back our death bowling to close games out from that point. We have been on the right side a number of those results throughout this league and today wasn't to be," he added.
Chennai Super Kings will now play the final on May 27 while Sunrisers Hyderabad will play against the winner of the Eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday, May 25.
Williamson said, "The bowlers were outstanding today. A few balls here and there, and at the death I think, when it's a low scoring game, a couple of edges — you know.
"It's such a fine line. It was just a shame. We always backed ourselves to close games out from that point. But saying that, there are a number of other areas that we would like to touch on going into our next game."
The captain then went on to concede that his Sunrisers side fell short by 15-20 runs with the bat.
"It took a little bit of turn, but it was probably a 160 wicket, so we were a little bit short with the bat,” he confessed.
“With the bat, we could have taken some better options in order to get maybe another 15/20 on that surface,” Willamson added.
"I think we could've taken a few smart options to get a bit more on the board," said the New Zealand and Hyderabad skipper.
"Death bowling is our strength, but today Chennai Super Kings played well and showed their depth with the bat.
“Frustrating, but we're up against Kolkata Knight Riders next and it's important we show some signs of improvement there," he signed off.