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Former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned Sunrisers Hyderabad's approach in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after their five-wicket defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Pat Cummis-led side, who is known for their bang-bang approach from ball No.1, came up short against the Rishabh Pant-led side and this defeat put SRH's batting approach under the scanner.
SRH smashed the second highest total of the IPL history in their IPL 2025 opener clash against Rajasthan Royals but the side failed to make an impact in their second outing as they posted a below-par total of 190/9 in the allotted twenty overs, and the visitors chased the target down in the 17th over with five wickets in hand.
LSG's Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh smashed the SRH bowlers all around the park as LSG chased down the total with 23 balls to spare. Vaughan reckons that SRH bowlers might lose confidence if they kept bowling like this on a flat surface.
"Obviously, we talk about Hyderabad's batting, the power, and the huge scores they get. They've got to be careful that the bowlers don't lose confidence. You know, because their bowlers are bowling on this road. You look at those numbers. I mean, Pat Cummins has done well tonight, but he went for 60 in the first game," Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
"Zampa's been destroyed, really, tonight. Shami's gone at 12 today. So you've got to be careful with your bowling attack, that they don't just bowl on roads in your home venue, and then you suddenly get on there, and you're expecting them to deliver, and they're not full of confidence," he added.
Vaughan believes that it was SRH's attacking approach that put them in trouble against LSG. He suggested the Pat Cummins-led side to play a little bit smarter. SRH smashed 286/6 in 20 overs in their first outing of the IPL 2025 against RR and won that match by 44 runs.
"I'm yet to see a team with a major event playing just one style of cricket. I'm just worried that the Sunrisers just play this one style of cricket, and they might just have to go up and down at the gears. Yes, go aggressive when you can, but it might not be possible every time you go out to bat," said Vaughan.
"And tonight, they fell short because they were ultra-aggressive. They had a little bit of fortune, but they were ultra-aggressive. And if they played a little bit smarter, would they have got 220, 230? Again, that's hindsight. But I've not seen a team yet win a franchise league or a national major tournament by playing just one style of cricket," he added.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will now face Delhi Capitals for their third clash, which will take place on March 30 at ACA VDCA International Cricket Stadium - Visakhapatnam.
