SRH batting approach was puzzling: Gavaskar

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the "puzzling" batting approach of Sunrisers Hyderabad during the powerplay in the first IPL Qualifier, suggesting their reckless strategy may have cost them the match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

"It was a terrific performance, no question. Such an impressive KKR display with both the bat and the ball. They took four wickets in the power play, and that's where the Sunrisers were pushed onto the back foot, really on the ropes. They couldn't recover from that."

"There was a partnership of sorts, but to me, the approach of the SRH batters in those first six overs was puzzling." With Vaibhav Arora dismissing the in-form Abhishek Sharma in the next over, SRH's explosive opening pair were out for 13 runs.

Gavaskar said after losing two key wickets, SRH's batters should have played more cautiously. Instead, they continued to play aggressively, which led to further losses and ultimately cost them the match. "When you've lost two wickets and the two who have been scoring runs for you, a certain amount of caution is required. Sure, don't miss out on scoring opportunities, but don't look to throw your bat at everything. But full credit to Kolkata for the way they attacked and took advantage of that pitch as well,” Gavaskar said.

Ricky Pointing is perplexed why people in India try to "find reasons" to not pick Virat Kohli in the national side and said the charismatic former skipper would be his "first pick" for the T20 World Cup in the Americas.

Kohli's sublime form in the ongoing IPL has seen him leading the run-chart with 708 runs from 14 innings, though questions keep cropping up about his strike rate at the top of the order. "He (Kohli) is the first pick for me for India. So, class and experience like that, you can't replace. "It's funny with Virat. I think people in India just always try to find a reason not to pick him or a reason why he's maybe not as good as some of these other guys in the T20 game."

Ponting feels Kohli should open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma at next month's T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, as Suryakumar Yadav and the likes are quite capable of prepping up the run rate later in the innings.