IPL 6: What Sunrisers Hyderabad have done right so far

The previous IPL was indeed a horrendous memory for the Hyderabad franchise Deccan Chargers, with the team winning just 4 matches out of the 16 they played. In spite of having an explosive batsman such as Shikhar Dhawan and the best fast bowler in the world in Dale Steyn, the team struggled to find the proper momentum at the start. Their problems got accrued due to the bad fielding effort by the team members too. Even players such as JP Duminy dropped catches and this was certainly not a good sign. Around October last year, this team was bought by the Sun Group and renamed as the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They are currently one of the top franchises this season, and are also counted as one of the favourites to clinch the cup. Here are some of the points which highlight the areas in which the team from Hyderabad has tremendously improved compared to the previous couple of editions.

Players have their roles cut out:

SRH is a team which has got loads of talent, but this talent was not being used in a profitable way for the team. The potential in their bowling attack was not realized fully during the previous couple of editions. Despite having some wonderful all-rounders like Vihari and Ashish Reddy, who can chip in with useful cameos, the team was not able to perform as a unit. However, this time the role for each player is cut out in the team perfectly. Every player seems to be aware of the team’s plan and what role he has to play. For instance, Thisara Perera knows that he needs to get those quick runs during the death overs and pick up useful wickets with his bowling. The skipper’s role is to steady the innings during the middle overs and Steyn’s job is to keep the scoring rate low at the start. So far, everyone have been performing their roles brilliantly which are reflected in the good results produced. Of course, they have lost two matches but have showcased some good cricket in those too.

Legendary mentors :

As the new mentors of the team, Pakistani ex-player Waqar Younis, Indian opener Kris Srikanth and ex-Australian pacer Tom Moody seem to be working quite hard with the young talent this team possesses. With a strong bowling attack and some good medium pace all-rounders, this team cannot get better bowling coaches than Waqar Younis and Tom Moody. Their guidance will certainly help them handle tough situations in the death overs. Also, the explosive ex-Indian batsman Srikanth can also give some tips to the top order batsmen about getting runs at a quick pace. VVS Laxman is also one of the mentors and there cannot be anyone better than him to train the youngsters regarding handling pressure, as he did it in almost all the Tests he played for India. So, this bunch of young talented players seem to have found their rhythm and form with these three exceptional mentors training them. The hard work has definitely yielded some good results, as they have clinched 2 of their 3 victories in immense pressure situations. The team has shown that it is capable to handle pressure and turn it around.

Catches win matches!

One of the main reasons Hyderabad lost most of their matches in the previous edition was bad fielding. They dropped almost half the catches that were there to be caught in the previous edition, most of them being sitters. This time around, the fielding has been a lot better, although there have been a few dropped chances now too. The fielding unit has been working quite hard with the squad to save vital runs through good fielding, which is very much evident on the field.

Backing and pooling up local talent:

One more main reason for the Sun group owned franchise to have clicked so far is Sangakkara’s decision to back the Andhra players to do the job for him. Young players like Akshath Reddy, Ashish Reddy and Hanuma Vihari have been given opportunities to prove their worth, and they have done it without doubt. The innings played by Hanuma Vihari against RCB in tough batting conditions is one of the best knocks of IPL so far, even though it was a low scoring game won by SRH in the Super Over. Similarly, Ashish Reddy’s variations with the ball coupled with Akshath Reddy’s explosive batting at the top can certainly help SRH to bag more wins. These players were not given many chances in the earlier editions and their talent went unrecognised so far. They can be of great help as they will easily acclimatise to their home conditions and can provide a useful hand in home wins.

Good planning, better execution:

The plans SRH have chalked out in most of the matches have worked perfectly. Their best one so far is definitely getting Hanuma Vihari to bowl the first over to the RCB powerhouse Chris Gayle. Vihari picked up his wicket on the very first ball. Other than this, there are many other plans which have worked well for Sangakkara on the field. He has been using Dale Steyn as his trump card in every match, and the South African has been delivering accordingly. They have their teams chosen according to the pitch they play on, which shows the amount of thinking and analysis that is going into every match. They have stuck to their plans and executed them with fruitful results most of the times. Of course, some have failed, but they have proved that they have the resilience to come back from such situations and win games. Whether Sangakkara will lead his team to the playoffs, or will Hyderabadis have another IPL to forget, only time can tell.