Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been lethal with the bat. The brand of cricket they have played has led to a new trend where 250-plus totals have become common. SRH have dominated when they have batted first. It was against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at home earlier this season, they won their only match while chasing. On April 28, in Chepauk, Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first. The decision surprised everyone considering their ability to post dangerous totals on the board. After SRH suffered a batting collapse and lost by 78 runs in the run chase of 213, Cummins defended his decision at the coin toss.
“Not really. We thought it was our best chance to win. They batted well to get to 210 but with thought we were in with a chance with our batting lineup, the pitch was playing well too,” Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
He chose not to blame anyone for SRH’s biggest defeat by runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Cummins is sure that SRH will bounce back after a below-par display against the five-time IPL champions CSK.
“We’re pretty happy with how the batting lineup is going. Everyone in that lineup has performed and won us a game at some point in the tournament. It’s definitely dewy now but it was the same in the first innings as well. We’ll bounce back quickly,” he added.
No batter rises to the occasion
In the run chase, SRH lost their in-form destructive openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to Tushar Deshpande. The CSK pacer also dismissed impact player Anmolpreet Singh for a golden duck. Aiden Markram was the top-scorer with 26-ball 32. Heinrich Klaasen and Abdul Samad could not get going as they contributed with 21-ball 20 and 18-ball 19 respectively. SRH ended up getting bowled out for 134 in 18.5 overs.
SRH’s NRR decreases
SRH's net run rate (NRR) took a massive hit as it is barely positive now at +0.075. With five wins from nine games, they are placed fourth on the points table. Their NRR is only slightly better than KL Rahul's Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). They will face table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their next clash on May 2 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
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