IPL 2019: 5 reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won’t win the tournament

The runners-up of IPL 2018, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has begun their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 campaign on a bright note as well. Having won 3 of their first 5 matches, they sit comfortably at the 2nd spot in the points table, with a healthy Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.00. Although the initial phase of this journey has been a cakewalk, they still have plenty of problems to address. These problems have been clearly evident, but have been ignored due to the winning streak. However, it won’t be any surprise, if these glitches haunt them in the latter half of the tournament. Let us take a look at some of those problems, which might end up as the difference between the franchise and the title. Inconsistent and out of form middle order Vijay Shankar. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) SRH’s last match against MI clearly proved that their middle order is still out of form. Although their openers have overshadowed the poor form of Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan, it has made it clear that SRH will lose matches if the openers fail on a particular occasion. If this problem is not addressed, the consequences might be harsh. In IPL 2018, Kings XI Punjab had dominated the beginning because their openers Gayle and KL Rahul were in good touch. However, as the season progressed, the middle order was exposed, and KXIP were eventually knocked out of the tournament. SRH need to diagnose this problem, otherwise, we might see this happen to them as well. Out of form pacers Sunrisers Hyderabad celebrate fall of Shreyas Iyer’s wicket. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS) In the 5 matches that SRH have played in this season, their pacers have accumulated only 11 wickets. Their vice-captain and main bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has especially been very disappointing, and he has only 3 wickets in 5 matches and that too at a high economy rate of 9.36. The younger pacers, Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma haven’t been impressive either. They have accounted for only 11 of the wickets. This is a big issue, as the onus of powerplay and death overs is usually on the pacers. In the match against MI, they conceded 39 runs in the last 2 overs, helping MI reach a total of 136. More previously, they had given away 35 runs in last 10 balls against KKR. Lack of a good finisher Deepak Hooda of SRH plays a shot. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Sunrisers has always lacked a consistent and proven finisher. At the beginning of the season, it seemed that Deepak Hooda would do this job, but neither did he get many chances, nor could he capitalize on the ones he got. He could manage only 30 runs in 4 matches. All the team have a power hitter down the order. The best examples are Andre Russell (KKR), Rishabh Pant (DC) and Hardik Pandya (MI). Let us assume that SRH need 60 runs in 20 odd balls. In that case, they will need someone like Russell who can smash from the first ball. Although SRH have not come across such a situation until now, they need to be prepared for the future. For this purpose, they can make Vijay Shankar play at that spot or put a gamble over Rashid Khan. Overdependence on David Warner and Jonny Bairstow Jonny Bairstow. (Photo: IANS) Both the openers of SRH are sitting on the top of Orange Cap holder’s list. While this might seem to be a good sign for a team, it is not so. The whole team is totally reliant on their form and that is a huge worry. In the game against MI, captained by Rohit Sharma, the Sunrisers were bundled out for 96 on the same pitch, where they had scored 231 against RCB. This was because their openers got out early, and the whole middle and lower order succumbed soon. The woes for the SRH team management increases as both of them will leave to prepare for the WC. When this happens, the whole middle order would be exposed and the journey will become very difficult. If SRH manages to qualify for the playoffs due to the initial performance, the middle-order will be put through a stern test. Thus, the middle order urgently needs to step up if SRH are eyeing to lift the IPL trophy again. Poor performance of Rashid Khan in respect to last year Rashid Khan of Sunrisers Hyderabad in action. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) The Nangarhar-born Rashid has been the key to SRH’s success over the years. However, it has been noticed that the right-arm leg-break bowler has been slightly shaky and inconsistent in this IPL. He only has mustered 4 wickets in 5 matches, although he has not given any runs for free. Undoubtedly, the team expects Rashid to pick more wickets. He is yet to find the form that he had enjoyed in the previous edition. His not-up-to-the-mark performance has been ignored as he has not been needed much till now, and Mohammad Nabi has beautifully handled his role. However, it is clear that the team will need him soon, and at that time, the onus will be on the leggie to step up and perform. ~Written by Ayuj Aryan Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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IPL 2019: 5 reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won’t win the tournament

Let us take a look at some of those problems, which might end up as the difference between the franchise and the title.

Lack of a good finisher

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