No need to panic after losing one or two games, says Nehra

Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Ashish Nehra has stated there was no need to press the panic button following their 34-run loss via the Duckworth-Lewis method to Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Chasing a paltry target of 119, Pune Supergiants were cruising towards victory and were 94 for three in the 11th over before rains brought a premature end to the match on Tuesday.

Australia captain Steve Smith (46) piloted the run-chase while receiving able support from South African teammate Faf du Plessis (30).

"We don't need to panic just after losing one or two games. It is part of the T20 game. We played good three games, but 145-150 would have been a good score," said Nehra, who returned to the side after recovering from injury.

The veteran bowler observed that defending a modest total is always difficult for bowlers as they tend to go for runs while trying variations in their bowling.

"When you are defending a small total even bowlers like Mustafizur Rahman, who has been bowling so well, was trying different things. When you are trying different things, you can go for runs," he said

"It can happen in any T20 game. Teams scoring 200-225 can get out for 125-130 in the next game. It is the nature of the game. We were lucky that we scored 120 because Bhuvneshwar Kumar did manage to score those 20 runs towards the end," added the fast bowler.

Sunrisers made 118 for eight in their stipulated 20 overs as they struggled to apply themselves against the opponent's seam bowlers especially of Ashok Dinda, who returned figures of 3-23.

Shikhar Dhawan was the top scorer for the hosts with 56 not out and through the help of Kumar's late flourish (21 off 8) they were able to score above 100.