WE ARE HALF-WAY into the season-9 of the Indian Premier League and already debutants Gujarat Lions and two times champs Kolkata Knight Riders have shown signs of qualifying for the playoffs. That said, the Sunrisers Hyderabad aren’t too behind either and will be one of the top contenders for the final four spot.
After an initial stutter, the Sunrisers won three games on the trot and are now positioned at no.5 in the table with eight points. With seven more games at their disposal, Hyderabad will certainly fancy their chances.
Sunrisers were hit with some untimely injuries to Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Kane Williamson at the beginning of the tournament, but the Indian seamer and the Kiwi captain have already come back with a bang. Furthermore, the southpaw too is slated to take the field tomorrow against the Lions. With the marquee names back in the fray, Hyderabad will be boosted with more balance and firepower.
While skipper David Warner kept scoring the runs, Shikhar Dhawan’s form was a concern. However, the Indian opener has shown signs of coming back to form with two fifties in three games. With Williamson, Moses Henriques, Yuvraj Singh and the hard-hitting Deepak Hooda in the ranks, SRH have quite a formidable batting unit.
On the bowling front too, Hyderabad possess arguably the best seam attack in the competition. With Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar operating, things can get very tricky for the batsmen. Barinder Sran too has shown immense promise in the past few games.
And, it’s not be forgotten that Kiwi paceman Trent Boult has been warming the bench till now and it will be a wonderful sight for all the Hyderabad fans to see these gifted pacers coming hard at the opposition in tandem.
With such a huge influx of quality seamers in the side, the Sunrisers think-tank will have the liberty to use the rotation policy to their benefit. This can also prevent injuries to their pacers and will also keep them fresh for demands that lie ahead.
Sunrisers have won three games while chasing till now, but given the quality in their bowling, they also have the ability, unlike other struggling teams to restrict the opposition from crossing the line.
As far as leadership goes, it is imperative that your skipper is leading by example. And, the Aussie dynamo Warner has led the team with swagger and bravado, owing to his purple patch with the willow. Moreover, the biggest positive for SRH is that their players have jelled well under the southpaw and have exuded signs of unity.
At the moment, the Sunrisers are playing fearless cricket and are brimming with self-belief. Also, their coaching staff led by veteran Tom Moody has been instrumental in executing some master-strokes till now.
The Sunrisers are also blessed to have 10 players with international experience in their playing 11. (Warner, Dhawan, Williamson, Yuvraj, Henriques, Ojha, Hooda, K Sharma/B Sran, B Kumar, Rahman, Nehra). The SRH management will further be thrilled knowing that Eoin Morgan, Boult and Ben Cutting are all waiting in the wings to unleash their skills.
After losing in the eliminator to Rajasthan Royals in their debut season in 2013, the Sunrisers are still waiting to reach the playoffs for the second time. That said, given their resurgence, confidence and a bunch of match winners in their scheme of things, the Sunrisers should make the cut this time around.