HYDERABAD: The philosophy of the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters has been to go hard, no matter what. It took them to the final last season but with their batters struggling to put up similar displays this season, they may have to rethink their strategy.
The 2016 champions have suffered three straight defeats and are languishing at the bottom of the table. Pat Cummins’ side has a lot of ground to regain when they host Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday — their first match at the venue after the row over free tickets.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Cummins, a strong advocate of their brand of cricket, conceded that their game plan didn’t work in the last three games. “You have to be realistic — three games in a row, it has not come off for us. Our batters are at our best taking it on, but you have to think about if you could take different options,” he said after their 80-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Having posted the league’s second highest total of 286 against Rajasthan Royals in their opener, SRH openers have struggled. While Travis Head has been silenced in the last two games, Abhishek Sharma’s form (33 runs in four matches) has been a concern. Ishan Kishan, after his century on debut, failed to make any impact. The struggle of the top three left too much on the middle-order consisting of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen and Aniket Verma. A string of low totals—190 vs LSG, 163 vs DC and 120 vs KKR — has not offered enough cushion for their bowling unit.
Cummins has an economy rate of 12.30 runs per over, Adam Zampa 11.75 and Mohammed Shami 10 runs per over with none of their top bowlers completing their quota of four overs. Only leg-spinner Zeeshan Ali has been impressive.
Unlike the hosts, the visitors will be brimming with confidence after back-to-back wins — a 36-run win over MI followed by an eight-wicket win over RCB.
Sai Sudharsan (186 runs) has been consistent at the top while Jos Buttler (166), both of whom are No. 2 and 3 in the batting charts, has struck form with an unbeaten 73 against RCB. Shubman Gill at the top and Sherfane Rutherford in the middle complete the Titans’ batting.
Mohammed Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief against RCB and Prasidh Krishna has been doing his bit. Most batters seem to have decoded the Rashid Khan puzzle, but the Titans have been served well by R Sai Kishore. The left-arm spinner has troubled batters with his clever variations. The Titans, though, will miss Kagiso Rabada, who has returned home for personal reasons.
